Anyone who’s ever seen a firefly buzzing around their yard knows about bioluminescence. As the name implies, it’s a process that let animals light up the night, the ocean depths, and everything in between — and it’s all done with their bodies instead of wired bulbs. Several animals can handle the task with ease, but now there’s a new breed to add to the list.
Marine biologist David Gruber investigated the Solomon Islands of the Pacific Ocean one day, only to happen upon a discovery. It would have been fine if he only found a hawksbill sea turtle, but it went further than that; he found a turtle that could effectively glow in the dark. The key difference between the sea turtle and the common firefly is that even if the end result is the same, they have different processes. In this case, the turtle reflected blue light and let it shine its way out as a completely different color. Technically, it’s a process called biofluorescence — but no matter the name, it let the turtle glow with red and green colors that would match the average neon sign.
It’s quite the find, but there’s more to the story. Notably, the hawksbill sea turtle isn’t just the first turtle to glow, but the first reptile as well. The problem is that no one can figure out how or why it glows; as a turtle, it isn’t exactly begging for light to help with its camouflage or hunting. More study is needed, but in the meantime, at least one unexpected — and welcome — discovery was made.
