Scientists exploring near the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific recently discovered what could be the first biofluorescent sea turtle and captured it in a video.
The video, released by the National Geographic, showed the sea turtle glowing in neon green and red. David Gruber, a marine biologist at the City University of New York, discovered the glowing hawksbill sea turtle while he was on a night dive in July.
An earlier study suggested that fish use bioflourescence, or the ability to absorb light and release it in a different color, as their means of private communication. But it was only now that the ability was observed in a sea turtle, and also the first time among any reptile species.
"I've been [studying turtles] for a long time and I don't think anyone's ever seen this," Alexander Gaos, director of the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative who is not part of the discovery, said to National Geographic. "This is really quite amazing."
Gruber was filming the biofluorescence of small sharks and coral reefs when he saw the spaceship-like glowing creature. He believes that his discovery will encourage scientists to study whether biofluorescence is normal for sea turtles or the ability is limited to selected habitats.
"We know they have really good vision and they go under these long and arduous migrations," Gruber said to USA Today. "But how are they using this? Are they using it to find each other or to attract each other?"
The hawksbill sea turtle is a critically endangered sea turtle found throughout the tropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans.
