Readers ask about glowing bat toes and a rare particle decay

Toe-tally mysterious

Hairs on the toes of Mexican free-tailed bats light up under ultraviolet light, but the reason is unknown, Jason Bittel reported in “Mexican free-tailed bats’ toes glow in the dark” (SN: 8/28/24).

Reader Eleanor Peterson asked if the glowing toes might attract prey.

It is unlikely, but it is a logical thought, says biologist Fernando Gual-Suárez of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. Many organisms, such as some anglerfish and cave insects, use photoluminescence to lure prey. But unlike those life-forms, which are sit-and-wait predators, bats “are active aerial hunters,” Gual-Suárez says.