Questão 17 - UNIEVANGÉLICA Medicina 2024/2

Read the excerpt to answer the question.

 

New species of ‘pumpkin toadlet’ poisonous frog discovered in Brazil

 

    It’s poisonous, it glows green under ultraviolet light and it’s bright orange. This is a new species of poisonous frog found by researchers in the mountains of Brazil. A research team studying the differences between populations of pumpkin toadlets discovered the new species in the southern Mantiqueira mountains in Brazil’s Atlantic Forest. The discovery followed two years of field surveys at the Projeto Dacnis reserve and Reserva das Araucárias, both in the state of São Paulo. The frog, named Brachycephalus rotenbergae, is differentiated from other pumpkin toadlets by its more rounded snout, dark spots on its head and a different acoustic profile to its song which are unlike those of pumpkin toadlets already described. They also suggested its bright orange colors could be more important for communication than its song. Some species of pumpkin toadlets are unable to hear even their own calls. When exposed to ultraviolet light, parts of the frog’s head and abdomen are seen glowing neon green, though the scientists said they still don’t know why. The toadlets secrete a poison called tetrodotoxin, which is the same toxin found in fugu fish. The team aims to conduct further research on the bright orange toadlets to learn why they are fluorescent and also to monitor them for conservation purposes. “There’s an idea that fluorescence acts as signals for potential mates, to signal to rival males or some other biological role,” Professor Nunes said according to the Smithsonian Magazine. Though the species does not appear to be endangered, the scientists warned that growing numbers of feral boar in the area could pose a problem to the pumpkin toadlets in the future, and further monitoring is planned.

Disponível em: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/pumpkin-toadlet-poisonous frog-brazil-b1839762.html. Acesso em: 15 de set. 2023. [Adaptado]

    Cognate words are words in two or more languages that share a common origin and have similar meanings, pronunciations, and often spellings due to their historical linguistic roots. These words have evolved from a common ancestor language and have undergone changes over time as they developed in different languages. Cognates can provide insights into the historical relationships between languages.

 

What is the meaning of fluorescent as used in the text?