Bioluminescence – Part 9

Hopefully you are not wearying of all of our discussion of glowing creatures. We have just a few more fascinating animals to investigate before we complete our survey. Consider the photo to the right, a luminescent reptile! This picture was taken in 2015 in the Solomon Islands. Divers observed the strange sight of a glowing red and green turtle! These psychedelic Christmas colors are given off by the rare hawksbill sea turtle. The luminescent phenomenon had previously been observed in loggerhead turtles in an aquarium. Technically, this glowing phenomenon is not bioluminescence but biofluorescence. How are the two different? Biofluorescence occurs when an organism absorbs light from an outside source, such as the sun, transforms it and then reemits it as a different color. Bioluminescence is when an animal produces their own light via a chemical reaction. God’s creative variety is incredible!

Posted on January 1, 2021 by dwoetzel.