Marine biologist David Gruber was in the Solomon Islands in July to film biofluorescence in small sharks and coral reefs.
One night, his team was examining the crocodiles that frequent the area when a fluorescent hawksbill turtle appeared. The turtle glowed a neon red and green.
Gruber told National Geographic that this turtle is the first reptile scientists have seen with biofluorescence. Bifluorescence reflects blue light and re-emits it, causing a different color.
When he first saw it, he said it looked like a large spaceship gliding into view.
“It’d be fairly difficult to study this turtle because there are so few left and they’re so protected," Gruber said.
He thinks he still might be able to study the green sea turtle instead, as it is related to the hawksbill.
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