Atlas Obscura: Biologists threw a fluorescent frog rave for science
UC biologist explains why some frogs glow in the dark
Atlas Obscura turned to a University of Cincinnati doctoral student to explain why many frogs glow in the dark under certain light.
Amartya Tashi Mitra is studying the development of vision in UC Professor Elke Buschbeck's lab. Mitra said the evidence suggests biofluorescence is one way frogs communicate in a world in which they are most active at night.
UC doctoral student Amartya Mitra. Photo/Provided
Florida State University researcher Courtney Whitcher shared her discovery that many frogs are biofluorescent with Atlas Obscura. Whitcher has been studying the phenomenon in the rainforests of South America.
Mitra was not part of the study, which was published as a preprint in the journal bioRxiv.
“It also seems that the species that they found to fluoresce seem to be things like tree frogs with really big eyes,” Mitra told Atlas Obscura.
“It’s quite likely that those species are using their vision to perform complex tasks like signaling. They didn’t find this kind of fluorescence in aquatic species, which have much smaller eyes and live in murky waters, so it does seem that this is something that evolved by a sensory drive to serve a very specific purpose.”
Featured image at top: A frog glows under a black light. Photo/Santiago Ron
Related Stories
Taking a second look at surgery eligibility for patients with lung cancer who smoke
June 11, 2026
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have found that patients who continue to smoke ahead of lung cancer surgery have a higher risk of pulmonary complications, but their short-term mortality rate is similar to patients who were able to stop smoking before surgery.. Their findings were published recently in the Journal of. American College of Surgeons
Pocket-sized population threat
June 10, 2026
The Financial Times took a deep dive into why populations around the world continue to be on the decline. The publication cited new University of Cincinnati research as part of the investigation that looks at the fall of fertility in the digital era.
Patients with developmental disabilities may benefit with an integrated care model
June 9, 2026
Researchers from the University of Cincinnati and Ohio State University have found that adults with developmental disabilities who have integrated care were less likely to go to the emergency room or be hospitalized than others who were not. Their work was published in Disability and Health Journal.