Australian Journal of Zoology
Volume 71
Number 2 2023
The helminth parasites of Macropus fuliginosus and M. giganteus are reported based on examination of a total of 288 animals extending, for the first time, across the entire geographical range of both species. Photograph by I. Beveridge.
A visual function for photoluminescent fur has recently been hypothesised. We tested pairs of real-fur rat models in natural lighting, and found that nocturnal vertebrates did not choose models with naturally photoluminescent fur over models with the photoluminescence extinguished. Moonlight does not seem to trigger the photoluminescence of rat fur to a level where vertebrate animals respond to it, our results therefore not supporting a basis for visual function in nocturnal mammals. Photograph by Linda Reinhold.