In a first, these bats were found to have toes that glow

You’ve heard of jazz hands? Well, these bats have glow toes.

When ultraviolet light shines onto the Mexican free-tailed bat’s extraordinarily hairy toes, they light up like a Christmas tree. That’s because the animals have bristly structures that are capable of UV-induced photoluminescence, researchers report August 8 in Mammalian Biology. The finding marks the first time photoluminescent structures have been reported in live bats, and places Mexican free-tailed bats on an ever-growing list of creatures that can absorb UV light and reemit it at a different wavelength.

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