Video: First biofluorescent turtle

The first know biofluorescent reptile was discovered by accident. David Gruber, a National Geographic Emerging Explorer, spotted the hawksbill sea turtle while filming coral off the Solomon Islands. Biofluorescence – the ability to reflect blue light hitting a surface and re-emit it as a different color – has been observed in coral, and some fish, sharks, and rays. But this turtle is the the first biofluorescent reptile ever recorded.

Biofluorescence, by the way, is different from bioluminescence. Bioluminescent animals produce their own light, either via chemical reactions or host bacteria that give off light.

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