Effect of Biofluorescence
Wisconsin (USA), Feb 25: Do you know that certain animals glow under ultraviolet (UV) light? This is due to the phenomenon – called biofluorescence (the absorption and reemission of light in living organisms). Certain animals have fur or skin that absorbs short wavelength light and it emits it as a longer wavelength, thus changing its colour. These animals are called biofluorescent. It is found in (some) invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds, and in nocturnal mammals like flying squirrels, opossums, and platypuses.
Scientists recently detected that when springhares were kept
under UV light, their dark brown fur lit up in streaks, spots, and
patches of pink and orange.
They also found that the glowing colours are produced by organic compounds called coproporphyrin and uroporphyrin in springhare’s fur. These two compounds fluoresce in the yellow, orange or red regions of the visible spectrum (portion of the electromagnetic spectrum that is visible to the human eye) generating a bright pink and orange glow. Both male and female springhares possess this characteristic, but the bright patterns were highly variable between individuals.
