Hot pink flying squirrels

No, I'm not suffering DT's and I didn't take '___' either. This is an actual journal article from Journal of Mammalogy.
Ultraviolet fluorescence discovered in New World flying squirrels (Glaucomys)

You can read the abstract there but I am too cheap to pay $45 to access the article. I do have the next best thing - 2 news articles.

Fox: Hot pink flying squirrels? Wisconsin biologist shocked to find creatures glow in the dark has video

A Wisconsin biologist made an unexpected discovery with an ultraviolet flashlight in hand one crisp spring night: a hot pink flying squirrel.

Jon Martin, who's also a professor at Northland College in Ashland, spotted the pink bubblegum-hued mammal in his UV beam as the creature feasted at a birdfeeder.

"I point the light at it and bam! Pink fluorescence," Martin told Newsweek.
...
"Fluorescence in varying intensities of pink was observed in females and males of all extant species across all sampled geographic areas in North and Central America and a temporal range of 130 years," the group wrote in a synopsis of their research.

It's still unclear why the creatures' naturally brown fur turns that shade of pink under UV light, though some guess it may be a way to communicate or identify their own species around dusk and dawn when they typically are the most active.

Newsweek: These Flying Squirrels Glow Bubblegum Pink Under UV Light

Out of 135 museum squirrel specimens studied, the team found only members of the Glaucomys genus—New World flying squirrels—glimmered pink, Nature reported. Shine ultraviolet light on the critters that glide from tree to tree in forests from Honduras to Alaska, and they will shimmer. But the researchers don't know what effect this has on the squirrels, so they advise not to try it out on living animals in the wild.

The fur of other squirrels—the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis), the fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) and the American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus)—had no such glow.

Researchers don’t know why the creatures' fur turns cotton-candy pink, but they think it might help them recognise each other when there isn’t much light, the team told Newsweek. It might also help them avoid predators, or have no special function at all. "This trait could just be a cool color they happen to produce," Kohler said.

picture from twitter

a reply to: toms54

Do your think the flying squirrels can see into the UV spectrum (so they can see each other better)? Or maybe there is a predator out there that feeds on them, that can see in UV? Or is it just a coincidence and means nothing?

This is interesting, thanks for posting it

a reply to: toms54

1 star for refusing to pay twice for science that is likely already publicly funded. I am not surprised a nocturnal animal has developed such a trait.

a reply to: LookingAtMars

I looked around a little. One place said they see only blue and yellow, less colors than a human and another said, "Also, certain times of day have different proportions of UV in the environment. It just so happens that proportions are highest during crepuscular/nocturnal times of day, when the flying squirrels are most active. They also have uniquely transparent eye lenses that let these UV wavelengths through their eyes; but the real question is, does their brain process this information (can they see it)?"

So I don't have a clear answer but now you have me curious.

a reply to: toms54

If their eyes have UV sensitive cones, the answer almost certainly yes, they can see it. I wonder what the world would look like through tetrachromatic eyes.

a reply to: toms54

You had me at hot pink flying squirrels.

It's fascinating how Darwinism works, how certain subspecies can be so varied despite being in the same biosphere. I have a UV light so I should try this on my cats-wait...is stupid a color?

Darwinism is not a thing but natural selection is.

Have you seen the glow in the dark fish?

www.glofish.com...

originally posted by: Phage
Darwinism is not a thing but natural selection is.

Have you seen the glow in the dark fish?

www.glofish.com...

What color are they without the blue lighting? Just a non-fluorescent counterpart? So without the blue light, Instead of "galactic blue" it's just blue?

a reply to: KansasGirl

Yeah, they work with blacklights too though.

And without a blacklight, the squirrels are just squirrel colored.

That's pretty cool! I remember finding out about scorpians fluorescing under UV and thinking it would be cool to build a complete UV tank and get a few, wifey said no to that too, lol;

originally posted by: KansasGirl

originally posted by: Phage
Darwinism is not a thing but natural selection is.

Have you seen the glow in the dark fish?

www.glofish.com...

What color are they without the blue lighting? Just a non-fluorescent counterpart? So without the blue light, Instead of "galactic blue" it's just blue?

Most are probably aware, but for those who aren't, some fish species, and others (fireflies etc.) don't require a UV light source to flouresce - they use bioluminescence,

This is clearly, in my view at least, inspiration for the alien creatures in the movie Abyss, a fantastic movie for those who haven't seen it!;



I like what they did with Avatar too

Here's a bonus picture of some local bioluminescence;



Cool thread, I love stuff like this so S&F!

Get yourself a UV LED hand light ("torch," "flashlight," etc.). They're cheap; a small USB-rechargeable model saves on the cost of batteries and lasts for many years.

You will be astonished at some of the colors you'll see when using it in the dark, because it makes some things fluoresce and it makes some colors change. For instance, tonic water glows an eerie green because the trace amounts of quinine fluoresce under UV light. Depending on the pigments used, some yellows remain yellow, and some yellows appear black. If you want to collect scorpions, a UV light will make them glow from 30 feet away and they're super easy to spot. Easier to find at night than during the day.

Get a UV light and have some fun.

If you have a dog or a cat, don't use the light to inspect any carpeting you have. You will hate your critter