Study Reveals Gophers’ Biofluorescence

You can learn a lot about animals by simply watching them. But some secrets can only be revealed in the dark … with an ultraviolet flashlight. This happens to be the case for pocket gophers, small rodents that live underground in sandy soil. A new paper by University of Georgia (UGA) researchers found that these feisty, solitary, round-cheeked animals have a special capability that’s only revealed under ultraviolet light: They are biofluorescent, giving off a colored glow when illuminated with UV light. Image shows pocket gopher illuminated with UV light (Credit: UGA). Published online on July 19, 2021 in The American Midland Naturalist,  this is the first time biofluorescence has been documented in pocket gophers. J.T. Pynne, a recent PhD graduate of the UGA Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and lead author of the study, said he was inspired to shine a light on the possibility a few years ago, after reading similar studies documenting the phenomenon in flying squirrels and opossums. The new article is titled “Ultraviolet Biofluorescence in Pocket Gophers.”