Researchers found that European fire salamanders emit a green and cyan glow under ultraviolet light, driven by compounds in their skin secretions. The fluorescence is concentrated on their yellow markings and remains active for more than 24 hours after leaving the body. Because moonlight contains higher proportions of UV wavelengths than daylight, the effect may be visible to animals during nocturnal activity.
While chemical analyses of salamander skin date back over a century, the specific compound responsible for this glow remains unidentified. It is easy to overstate these discoveries as hidden signals, but researchers still do not know if the fluorescence serves a biological purpose or is simply an incidental byproduct of other skin chemistry. It is a reminder of how much baseline biology we still miss in well-studied animals.
more: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2026/10/261027063707.htm
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