Dubai: Pumpkin toadlets are colourful miniature frogs that live in the Brazilian Atlantic forest, and now researchers have discovered that these tiny frogs are fluorescent. Fluorescence is emission of light by a substance that has absorbed light or other electromagnetic radiation. “The fluorescent patterns are only visible to the human eye under a ultra-violet (UV) lamp,” said Sandra Goutte from New York University Abu Dhabi.
“In nature, if they were visible to other animals, they could be used as intra-specific communication signals or as reinforcement of their aposematic colouration, warning potential predators of their toxicity,” Goutte said in a statement. Pumpkin toadlets, also called Brachycephalus ephippium, are tiny, brightly-coloured, and poisonous frogs that can be found in the Brazilian Atlantic forest. During the mating season, they can be seen by day walking around the forest and producing soft buzzing calls in search of a mate.
