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Fish Coloration
Fish coloration, a subset of animal coloration, is extremely diverse. Fish across all taxa vary greatly in their coloration through special mechanisms, mainly pigment cells called chromatophores. Fish can have any colors of the visual spectrum on their skin, evolutionarily derived for many reasons. There are three factors to coloration, brightness (intensity of light), hue (mixtures of wavelengths), and saturation (the purity of wavelengths). Fish coloration has three proposed functions: thermoregulation, intraspecific communication, and interspecific communication. Fishes' diverse coloration is possibly derivative of the fact that "fish most likely see colors very differently than humans". Mechanisms Fish coloration is produced through specialized cells called chromatophores. The dermal chromatophore is a basic color unit in amphibians, reptiles, and fish which has three cell layers: "the xanthophore (contains carotenoid and pteridine pigments), the iridophore (reflects col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Coloration
Animal coloration is the general appearance of an animal resulting from the reflection or emission of light from its surfaces. Some animals are brightly coloured, while others are hard to see. In some species, such as the peafowl, the male has strong patterns, conspicuous colours and is iridescent, while the female is far less visible. There are several separate reasons why animals have evolved colours. Camouflage enables an animal to remain hidden from view. Animals use colour to advertise services such as cleaning to animals of other species; to signal their sexual status to other members of the same species; and in mimicry, taking advantage of the warning coloration of another species. Some animals use flashes of colour to divert attacks by startling predators. Zebras may possibly use motion dazzle, confusing a predator's attack by moving a bold pattern rapidly. Some animals are coloured for physical protection, with pigments in the skin to protect against sunburn, while ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Camouflage
Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier, and the leaf-mimic katydid's wings. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern, making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate, as well as making general aiming easier. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. Some animals, such as chameleons and o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Batesian Mimicry
Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where a harmless species has evolved to imitate the warning signals of a harmful species directed at a predator of them both. It is named after the English naturalist Henry Walter Bates, after his work on butterflies in the rainforests of Brazil. Batesian mimicry is the most commonly known and widely studied of mimicry complexes, such that the word mimicry is often treated as synonymous with Batesian mimicry. There are many other forms however, some very similar in principle, others far separated. It is often contrasted with Müllerian mimicry, a form of mutually beneficial convergence between two or more harmful species. However, because the mimic may have a degree of protection itself, the distinction is not absolute. It can also be contrasted with functionally different forms of mimicry. Perhaps the sharpest contrast here is with aggressive mimicry where a predator or parasite mimics a harmless species, avoiding detection and improving its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Müllerian Mimicry
Müllerian mimicry is a natural phenomenon in which two or more well-defended species, often foul-tasting and sharing common predators, have come to mimic each other's honest warning signals, to their mutual benefit. The benefit to Müllerian mimics is that predators only need one unpleasant encounter with one member of a set of Müllerian mimics, and thereafter avoid all similar coloration, whether or not it belongs to the same species as the initial encounter. It is named after the German naturalist Fritz Müller, who first proposed the concept in 1878, supporting his theory with the first mathematical model of frequency-dependent selection, one of the first such models anywhere in biology. Müllerian mimicry was first identified in tropical butterflies that shared colourful wing patterns, but it is found in many groups of insects such as bumblebees, and other animals including poison frogs and coral snakes. The mimicry need not be visual; for example, many snakes share a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mimicry
In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry functions to protect a species from predators, making it an anti-predator adaptation. Mimicry evolves if a receiver (such as a predator) perceives the similarity between a mimic (the organism that has a resemblance) and a model (the organism it resembles) and as a result changes its behaviour in a way that provides a selective advantage to the mimic. The resemblances that evolve in mimicry can be visual, acoustic, chemical, tactile, or electric, or combinations of these sensory modalities. Mimicry may be to the advantage of both organisms that share a resemblance, in which case it is a form of mutualism; or mimicry can be to the detriment of one, making it parasitic or competitive. The evolutionary convergence between groups is driven by th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyrannochromis Macrostoma
''Tyrannochromis macrostoma'', or big-mouth hap, is a species of cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi where it prefers rocky shallows. This species can reach a length of TL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade. See also *List of freshwater aquarium fish species A vast number of aquatic species have successfully adapted to live in the freshwater aquarium. This list gives some examples of the most common species found in home aquariums. Catfish Characins and other characiformes ... References External links Photograph macrostoma Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan Fish described in 1922 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Cichlidae-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
The Atlantic bluefin tuna (''Thunnus thynnus'') is a species of tuna in the family Scombridae. It is variously known as the northern bluefin tuna (mainly when including Pacific bluefin as a subspecies), giant bluefin tuna or individuals exceeding and formerly as the tunny. Atlantic bluefins are native to both the western and eastern Atlantic Ocean, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. They have become extinct in the Black Sea. The Atlantic bluefin tuna is a close relative of the other two bluefin tuna species—the Pacific bluefin tuna and the southern bluefin tuna. Atlantic bluefin tuna have been recorded at up to in weight, and rival the black marlin, blue marlin, and swordfish as the largest Perciformes. Throughout recorded history, the Atlantic bluefin tuna has been highly prized as a food fish. Besides their commercial value as food, the great size, speed, and power they display as apex predators has attracted the admiration of fishermen, writers, and scientists. The At ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aeoliscus Strigatus
''Aeoliscus strigatus'', also known as the razorfish, jointed razorfish or coral shrimpfish, is a member of the family Centriscidae of the order Syngnathiformes. This unique fish adopts a head-down tail-up position as an adaptation for hiding among sea urchin spines."Eyewitness handbooks Aquarium Fish: The visual guide to more than 500 marine and freshwater fish varieties" By Dick Mills. Page 283 The razorfish is found in coastal waters in the Indo-West Pacific. Its natural habitat includes beds of sea grass and coral reefs, where sea urchins are found. Description The razorfish is easily identifiable due to its particular body shape as well as its way of moving in Synchronicity, synchrone group head down. It is a small fish with a maximum size of long, its body is stretched ending by a long fine "beak". Its fins are considerably reduced and transparent. The dorsal surface of the razorfish is covered by protective bony plates. They extend past the end of the body and over the ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blackbanded Sunfish
The blackbanded sunfish (''Enneacanthus chaetodon'') is a freshwater fish species of the sunfish family (Centrarchidae). They are found in the United States ranging from New Jersey to central Florida.> The defining feature of this Black-banded sunfish is the black vertical strips that it has on both sides of its body. The term "Enneacanthus" comes from the Greek terms ''ennea'', which means "nine times", and ''acanthi'', which means "thorn". It is in a genus that consists of only three species along with the Banded Sunfish (''Enneacanthus obesus'') and the Bluespotted Sunfish (''Enneacanthus gloriosus''). Collectively, they are commonly referred to as the "Banded Sunfish" or "Little Sunfish". Description The Black-banded sunfish is fairly small, maximum length of 10 cm, with an average life span of 3–4 years. The average length of this sunfish is around 6 centimeters in length. The Black-banded sunfish has a very compressed, deep body with a small mouth but big lower jaw ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bamboo Shark
The Hemiscylliidae are a family of sharks in the order Orectolobiformes, commonly known as longtail carpet sharks and sometimes as bamboo sharks. They are found in shallow waters of the tropical Indo-Pacific. They are relatively small sharks, with the largest species reaching no more than in adult body length. They have elongated, cylindrical bodies, with short barbels and large spiracles. As their common name suggests, they have unusually long tails, which exceed the length of the rest of their bodies. They are sluggish fish, feeding on bottom-dwelling invertebrates and smaller fish. Genera and species ''Chiloscyllium'' This genus is distinguished by a relatively long snout with subterminal nostrils. The eyes and supraorbital ridges are hardly elevated. The mouth is closer to the eyes than to the tip of the snout, with lower labial folds usually connected across the chin by a flap of skin. The pectoral and pelvic fins are thin and not very muscular. No black hood on the he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hippocampus Bargibanti
''Hippocampus bargibanti'', also known as Bargibant's seahorse or the pygmy seahorse, is a seahorse of the family Syngnathidae found in the central Indo-Pacific area. It is tiny, usually less than in size and lives exclusively on fan corals.Epoch Times Staff. (8/11/2011.) "Science in Pictures: Pygmy Seahorses." ''The Epoch Times, Northern California Edition''. There are two known color variations: grey with red tubercles, and yellow with orange tubercles. It is unknown whether these color varieties are linked to specific host gorgonians (corals).Reijnen, B.T., van der Meij, S.E.T., van Ofwegen, L.P. (2011) "Fish, fans and hydroids: host species of pygmy seahorses." ''ZooKeys'' 103: 1-26. Description The pygmy seahorse is well camouflaged and extremely difficult to spot amongst the gorgonian coral it inhabits. So effective is this camouflage that the species wasn't actually discovered until its host gorgonian was being examined in a laboratory.ARKive species fact-file In 1969 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
