Both male and female specimens glowed a shockingly brilliant blue-green with a purple belly. At Chicago’s Field Museum, they tested UV light on preserved platypuses (none were harmed, some lived as far back as the 19th century). The team chose platypuses as an example of a very different mammal from the flying squirrels. This 2019 paper inspired the researchers to continue their investigation of mammal pelts and UV light.
Using museum-preserved specimens and staking out the squirrels' natural habitat, a 2019 paper announced the creatures as only the second known mammal to fluoresce-the first being opossums. Noticing the flying squirrel appeared almost neon pink under the flashlight, Martin began to study the fluorescence of the squirrels. An object that fluoresces under UV light absorbs these waves and then emits a lower energy, therefore longer wavelength, which is visible to the human eye as a color on the spectrum. UV light is composed of wave lengths slightly too short for most humans to see. Professor Jonathan Martin was exploring his backyard with a UV flashlight when he encountered a flying squirrel. However, the researchers' interest in fluorescent mammals dates back several years. Forestry scientists at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin published this discovery in October 2020.
0 kommentar(er)
