THE mystery of a bat with green fur has been solved.
Mammal fur comes in shades of brown, black, yellow and red. But biologists were intrigued when they found several species of bats in Papua New Guinea sporting olive-green fur.
Lab tests have now revealed that the green hue is produced by microscopic algae growing on, and within, individual hair shafts. Deanna Byrnes of the University of Wisconsin told the annual meeting of the American Society of Mammalogists last week.
One other animal uses a similar trick. Sloths cultivate green algae in their fur to help disguise them as they…
