Scientists left baffled after discovering bats with glow-in-the-dark toes
Zoologists were left baffled after they discovered bats with glowing toes.
Bat researchers are mind-blown at the latest discovery of the furry flying mammals. The Mexican free-tailed bat has feet that have been found to glow in the dark, making it a world first.
Scientists stumbled upon the discovery while trying to prove bat migration in southern Mexico City. The animal boffins had hoped they could study the movement of the bats between two locations using powder that shines under UV light.
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Biologist Fernando Gual-Suárez (part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City) explained: “We failed at that.”
But, what they did find was much more impressive…
(Image: Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)
After hearing a colleague query if the appearance of the toes were “normal”, Gual-Suárez took a closer look at the Mexican free-tailed bats (officially known as Tadarida brasiliensis ).
The researchers had dusted bats from the north with a special powder that shines under UV light. The hope was to test animals in the South, and identify the same powder.
Instead, the astounded scientists watched as the Mexican free-tailed bats’ hairy toes started to glow. It was revealed that the bristly structures on the mammals’ feet are capable of UV-induced photoluminescence.
This astonishing find isn’t the first time glow-in-the-dark animals have been discovered – with wasp nests, platypuses, and flying squirrels all lighting up like a Christmas tree under UV light.
But, this is the first time the outer shine of bats has been unveiled, and curiously, only in their toes.
The furry Mexican mammals are able to absorb UV light and re-emit it at a different wavelength, according to experts. The researchers found the bright structures on 25 Mexican free-tailed bats captured all over the city.
And what are the next steps after shining a UV light onto the mysteries of bat culture? More research, according to Rodrigo Medellín. An ecologist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Medellín said: “We need to test it in the lab.
“We’re playing with the idea of having a captive colony of Mexican free-tails and maybe shaving the bristles on the feet to see what they do. This is just scratching the surface of a very deep and very long iceberg that nobody knows anything about.”
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