Glowing Bats: Why Do They Shine?

KOMPAS.com – Bats that glow green like Halloween decorations are not just imagination! A recent study from the University of Georgia, United States, found that several species of bats in North America can actually glow under ultraviolet (UV) light.

The research team examined 60 bat specimens from six different species, including the big brown bat (Eptesic brown), eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis), Seminole bat (Lasiurus seminolus), southeastern myotis (Myotis austroriparius), gray bat (Myotis grisescens), dan Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis).

The results were surprising — they all gave off a green glow when exposed to UV light. The parts of the body that glow are always the same: the wings, the hind legs, and the webbing between the legs.

“The data shows that all of these bat species got it from a common ancestor. They didn’t develop it separately,” said Steven Castleberry, a wildlife biologist at the University of Georgia.

Also read: Unique Bat Myotis himalaicus: Bald Eyes and Super Long Tail

Same Color, Same Mystery

This phenomenon is called photoluminescence, namely the ability of a material to emit light after absorbing energy. However, in bats, this raises a big question mark. Typically, variations in color or luminous patterns help animals recognize mates or differentiate between other species. But all these bats glow the same shade of green, with no distinction between gender or age.

This means that it is very likely that this light no longer functions as a means of biological communication.

Castleberry suspects that this luminous ability may be a relic of evolution.

“Perhaps this light used to have a certain function in the past, but not anymore,” he said.

Also read: Why are bats immune to cancer?

Looks But Maybe Useless?

Interestingly, the wavelength of green light is within the range of bats’ vision. However, scientists are not yet sure whether there is enough natural light at night to make the effect visible in their natural habitat — especially in dark caves where bats rest.

What’s even more interesting is that the glowing parts of the body — the wings and hind legs — are the areas that are visible when the bat is flying in search of food. This made scientists wonder: does the green light have a specific function during flight, for example for communication between bats?

To answer this, the research team plans to conduct direct observations on live bats in the future.

Also read: How do bats differentiate between safe and poisonous prey?

Wider Phenomenon

This discovery adds to the long list of mammals capable of glowing under UV light. Previously, scientists also discovered a similar phenomenon in several other mammals — as if they were having a “light party” in a diverse color spectrum.

However, unlike other animals that display color variations, bats are uniform in their green glow, making this mystery even more difficult to solve.

This research, published in the journal Ecology & Evolution, opens up new questions in the world of biology: is the green light in bats just a “trace of the evolutionary past”, or is it a secret code that we don’t yet understand?

Also read: Giant Bat: An Unexpected Savior for Durian

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