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Many Australian animals display biofluorescence

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Aug 15, 2025

AN increasing number of Australian animals, and animals around the world, are being found to exhibit biofluorescence, meaning that they glow under UV light.

The phenomenon was first discovered in 2020 after scientists discovered that platypuses glow under UV light, and since then, people have been rushing to discover which other animals biofluoresce.

UV torches only cost around $15 to $20. UV light is also known as blacklight.

Platypuses, bandicoots, quolls, possums, wombats, echidnas and bilbies all glow under UV light. So do rats, some spiders, some snakes, some lizards (including geckoes) scorpions, millipedes, centipedes, crickets, and many birds including cockatoos, parrots, budgerigars and pigeons, but not magpies.

Kangaroos do not glow, although Lumholtz’s tree-kangaroo does glow. Wallabies glow faintly.

Sadly for hunters, deer do not glow in the dark.

Sadly for drivers, UV light can’t be used for headlights as they damage the eye….

Image by : Kelly2357

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