BUENOS AIRES (AFP) – The first naturally fluorescent frog was discovered recently in Argentina — almost by chance, a member of the team of researchers said on Thursday.
Argentine and Brazilian scientists at the Bernardino Rivadaiva Natural Sciences Museum made the discovery while studying the metabolic origin of pigments in a tree-frog species common to South America.
Under normal light the frog’s translucent skin is a muted yellowish-brown color with red dots, but when the scientists shone an ultraviolet light on it, it turned a celestial green.
According to one of them, Carlos Taboada, the case is “the first scientific record of a fluorescent frog.”
“We were very excited,” said his fellow researcher Julian Faivovich. “It was quite disconcerting.”
He said the discovery “radically modifies what is known about fluorescence in terrestrial environments, allowing the discovery of new fluorescent compounds that may have scientific or technological applications.”
It also “generates new questions about visual communication in amphibians,” he said.