Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Mature chromatophores are grouped into subclasses based on their colour under white light: xanthophores (yellow), erythrophores (red), iridophores (reflective / iridescent), leucophores (white), melanophores (black/brown), and cyanophores (blue). While most chromatophores contain pigments that absorb specific wavelengths of light, the color of ...
Rayleigh scattering causes the blue color of the daytime sky and the reddening of the Sun at sunset. Rayleigh scattering (/ ˈ r eɪ l i / RAY-lee) is the scattering or deflection of light, or other electromagnetic radiation, by particles with a size much smaller than the wavelength of the radiation.
Close-up of fish melanophores. 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 color structurally), and the melanophore (contains melanin)". [5]
What links here; Related changes; Upload file; Special pages; Permanent link; Page information; Cite this page; Get shortened URL; Download QR code
In the greater blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata), the rings contain multi-layer light reflectors called iridophores. These are arranged to reflect blue–green light in a wide viewing direction. Beneath and around each ring are dark pigmented chromatophores which can be expanded within 1 second to enhance the contrast of the rings.
Iridophores vary in size, but are generally smaller than 1 mm. Squid at least are able to change their iridescence. This takes several seconds or minutes, and the mechanism is not understood. [ 60 ] However, iridescence can also be altered by expanding and retracting the chromatophores above the iridophores.
When iridophores are affected by axanthism, the animal typically becomes duller or darker in coloration due to a lesser amount of light reflected. [2] Typically it is only the skin that is affected, and the eyes still have iridophores. The opposite of axanthism is xanthochromism, which is an excess of yellow coloration.
Three types of chromatophores are commonly found in amphibians: xanthophores, which contain yellow, orange, or red pigments and are found uppermost on the dermis; iridophores, which lie below the xanthophores and function by reflecting and scattering white light up through them (in the case of Pseudacris regilla and many other North American ...