The skeleton of the chameleons glows in the dark, the incredible German discovery

    Chameleons, "magical" creatures, known for their ability to blend in by changing skin color. But not only. Their bones glow blue in the dark in response to ultraviolet light. Unraveling the mysteries of these fascinating animals was a research team from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich


    He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

    Chameleons, “magical” creatures, known for their ability to blend in by changing the color of the skin. But not only. Their bones glow blue in the dark in response to ultraviolet light. Unraveling the mysteries of these fascinating animals was a research team from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.




    In the dark, the chameleon glows blue when placed under ultraviolet light. It is not about the skin that changes color but in this case it is the bones. A mechanism already known in nature but for the first time observed and demonstrated in chameleons. Indeed, biogenic fluorescence is more common in marine organisms, but is rare in terrestrial vertebrates.

    The well-known panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) which lives mostly in Madagascar displays fluorescent crests on its head.

    "We couldn't believe our eyes when we lit the chameleons with a UV lamp, and nearly all species showed previously invisible blue markings on their heads, some even all over their bodies," says David Prötzel, lead author of the new study and a doctoral student of the Bavarian State Collection of Zoology.

    Thanks to evolution, chameleons have acquired small bony growths along their skeleton, located just under the skin.

    It is the first time that researchers have noticed this ability of chameleons and think it is used for communication and for sexual selection. Reptiles can see UV light, and not all animals can. This could help them to communicate in a "secret" way with respect to other creatures living in the rainforest.

    The skeleton of the chameleons glows in the dark, the incredible German discovery

    This specific trait manifests itself above all around the eyes and in the temporal areas of the head, both commonly associated with communication. Furthermore, according to German scientists, i men they seem to have more bony protrusions that cause the glow, suggesting this feature is helping them during mating. Blue is a rare and easily recognizable color in the forest. This helps chameleons recognize conspecifics.


    The skeleton of the chameleons glows in the dark, the incredible German discovery

    To understand the phenomenon, the researchers used a variety of methods. Micro-CT scans showed that the fluorescence pattern exactly matched the distribution of the tubercle pattern on the skull. The analysis of the fabric gave another surprise:


    “Our 3D histological reconstruction showed that the skin covering the tubercles on the skull is very thin and consists only of a transparent layer of epidermis,” explains Dr. Martin Heß of the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. "These points effectively act as windows that allow UV light to reach the bone, where it is absorbed and then emitted again in the form of blue fluorescent light."


    Tubercles that fluorescent under UV light form very specific patterns, which characterize certain species or groups of species.


    READ also:

    • 10 animals that implement extraordinary strategies to defend themselves
    • Bioluminescence: creatures with extraordinary powers populate the oceans
    • The wonderful show of bioluminescent mushrooms that illuminate the forest (VIDEO)

    The study was published in Scientific Reports.

    Francesca Mancuso

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