Rare animal found: 'Glowing' sea turtle accidentally discovered off Solomon Islands [video]

What would you do if you encounter a rare animal that glows while diving at sea? Film it, of course, because that is exactly what a group of scientists did when they went diving off the coast of the Solomon Islands. As a result, they were able to capture on video the first biofluorescent reptile ever seen, in a form of a "glow-in-the-dark" sea turtle.

The National Geographic reports that what the scientists have discovered is an endangered hawksbill sea turtle exhibiting the ability to reflect blue light to red or a process called biofluorescence. It is a significant finding because this is the first time it was seen in reptiles. Director of the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative Alexander Gaos shares that it has been the first time he has seen a hawksbill sea turtle do it and he has been studying them for a long time.

The discovery was accidental because the team, led by marine biologist David Gruber from the University of New York, conducted the dive last July to film how small sharks and coral reefs emit biofluorescence. The turtle just came out of nowhere while the team was on guard for crocodiles who were said to frequent the area. Gruber recalls that the turtle looked like a giant spaceship with neon green and red patches all over it.

Biofluorescence in marine species caught the attention of scientists in the last few years, CNN reports. Starting off with the coral reef and jellyfish, it helped experts understand how the cells and molecules of these creatures work. It has led marine biologists to several biomedical breakthroughs and monumental findings. Unlike bioluminescence, a process where an organism has the capability to produce ts own light, biofluorescence occurs when the animal absorbs the light then transforms it into something different by means of emission or radiation.

The rare exhibition of biofluorescence in reptiles has yet to be studied by marine biologists and while it is too early to put a reason on this occurence, Gruber thinks it can be a a sort of defense mechanism or a way to attract prey. Like what the sea turtle is doing in the video, it may be doing a kind of camouflage to protect itself.

Discovery News writes that while it will be interesting to see how biofluorescence works on sea turtles, due to the declining number of the species, it will be a difficult task to do. The population of hawksbill sea turtles was reduced to 80 percent in the last decade and they are already included in the list of endangered animals.