Prasinohaema means “green blood”, and it is meant literally. These New Guinea skinks carry so much biliverdin, a green bile pigment, that their blood, muscles, bones and the inside of the mouth look green. In most animals, including us, levels like that would be toxic and cause severe jaundice.
A 2018 study in Science Advances found that green blood has evolved at least four separate times among New Guinea’s skinks. Nobody is yet certain why. Protection against parasites such as malaria has been suggested, but not proven.
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