David Gruber, a marine biologist at the City University of New York, found the glowing sea turtle while diving in July. As part of his research, he was using a special camera to film biofluorescent sharks and coral reefs when he encountered the turtle.
Biofluorescent creatures absorb light and emit it in various colors.
There more than 200 species of shark and fish that have this characteristic.
But Gruber does not know why the reptile is biofluorescent.
"The one thing that we know is that the males and females have slightly different patterns," Gruber said. "It could be used for mating and [helping] the turtles find each other. It could be used to camouflage themselves, hanging out among other fluorescent animals."
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