First “Glowing” Sea Turtle Found

David Gruber

By Jane J. Lee

Yes, this sea turtle is glowing neon green and red. No, it’s not radioactive.

The critically endangered hawksbill sea turtle is the first reptile scientists have seen exhibiting biofluorescence—the ability to reflect the blue light hitting a surface and re-emit it as a different color. The most common colors are green, red, and orange.

Biofluorescence is different from bioluminescence, in which animals either produce their own light through a series of chemical reactions, or host bacteria that give off light.

Corals fluoresce, and recent research has found the ability in a number of fish, sharks, rays, tiny crustaceans called copepods, and mantis shrimp. But researchers never expected to find it in a marine reptile. (See pictures of other animals that glow.)

“I’ve been [studying turtles] for a long time and I don’t think anyone’s ever seen this,” says Alexander Gaos, director of the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative, who was not involved in the find. “This is really quite amazing.”

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