Photoluminescent Feet Found in Mexican Bat

A collaborative effort by zoologists and ecologists from Mexico’s Instituto de Ecología, Soluciones Ambientales en Sustentabilidad Ambiental, and the University of Texas at Austin has led to an exciting discovery: a species of bat in Mexico has bioluminescent bristles on its feet.

Published in Mammalian Biology, their study reveals how this peculiar feature was discovered somewhat by chance. The researchers were initially focused on tracking bat movements between roosts near Mexico City. To capture the bats, they used fine filament nets and transported the specimens 30 kilometers to the north for release. The goal was to determine if the bats migrated between these roosts. They applied a UV-sensitive powder to the bats to make tracking easier, but instead of aiding in their study, the powder revealed an unexpected phenomenon—the bats' feet emitted a noticeable glow under UV light.

The Mexican free-tailed bats are already known for their unusual spoon-shaped bristles along their toes. These bristles, previously thought to be merely a curious physical trait, have now been found to exhibit a striking blue-green fluorescence under UV light.

To confirm their findings, the researchers tested an additional 25 bats from both roosts and even a historical specimen from a museum, all displaying the same glowing bristles. While the reason behind this luminescence is not yet fully understood, the researchers suspect that the bats might use this feature for visibility or communication in their dark and densely populated roosts.

Preliminary hypotheses suggest that these glowing bristles could play a role in nocturnal communication or social interaction among bats, especially in their large colonies, which can number up to a million individuals. The research team plans to conduct further studies to explore whether these photoluminescent bristles help the bats navigate or interact during the night.

This discovery opens up new avenues for understanding how bats adapt to their environments and communicate in the dark, highlighting the complex and often surprising ways in which animals evolve and adapt.