Chameleons not just change colours, they also glow in dark

Chameleons were already considered astonishing and unique due to their ability to change colors but according to a new discovery, not only can they change colors but they can also glow in dark as a sign of communication.

The discovery was made by a team of researchers led by David Prötzel. They demonstrated that chameleons’ bones shine blue when under ultraviolent (UV) light through their scaly skins in dazzling patterns, an occurrence known as biofluorescence.

In this process, the living organisms absorb the light and re-emits it a different color and for humans to see it, the organism needs to be shined upon by an external light source like a UV light bulb. What makes the chameleons more unique is that this type of phenomenon is normally present in ocean creatures and very rare in terrestrial vertebrates, reported National Geographic.

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“We could hardly believe our eyes when we illuminated the chameleons in our collection with a UV lamp, and almost all species showed blue, previously invisible patterns on the head, some even over the whole body,” Prötzel said.

The research published in journal Scientific Reports suggest that the entire body of the reptile does not glow, the pattern of bony bits that stick out of the surface of the chameleon’s head and spine illuminates. Because these creatures can see UV lights, it makes them able to see the illumination on other chameleons too helping them communicate.

Researchers suggested that due to varying pattern for every species and groups, these chameleons can recognize each other, attract a mate or find each other, according to Daily Mail.

Dr. Frank Glaw of the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology expressed, “It has long been known that bones fluoresce under UV light, but that animals use this phenomenon to fluoresce themselves has surprised us and was previously unknown.”