Scientists Have Been Studying Fire Salamanders for More Than 250 Years. They Just Discovered That the Creatures Glow Under UV Light

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Fire salamanders, studied by scientists for over two and a half centuries, possess a hidden luminescence that remained invisible until now. Researchers discovered these European amphibians are biofluorescent, they absorb ultraviolet light and re-emit it at a different wavelength, causing them to glow under UV illumination. Despite their status as one of Europe's most intensively researched amphibians, this property went undetected for generations, suggesting that even well-known creatures can harbor surprising biological features waiting to be revealed with the right tools and perspective.