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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]
Chromatophores are cells that produce color, of which many types are pigment-containing cells, or groups of cells, found in a wide range of animals including amphibians, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and cephalopods. Mammals and birds, in contrast, have a class of cells called melanocytes for coloration.
Fish and frog melanophores are cells that can change colour by dispersing or aggregating pigment-containing bodies. Chromatophores are special pigment-containing cells that may change their size, but more often retain their original size but allow the pigment within them to become redistributed, thus varying the colour and pattern of the animal.
Dispersing melanosomes to the periphery causes the cell to appear darker; concentrating melanosomes towards the center will cause the cell to appear lighter color. This is how a photoprotective system works for the fish on a molecular level. [3] Recently, melanosomes were found in spiders as well. [4]
Fish have cells called chromatophores that produce pigments that reflect light and give the fish coloration. The color of a goldfish is determined by their diet, water quality, and exposure to light, along with age and health. [48] Because goldfish eat live plants, their presence in a planted aquarium can be problematic.
Pigment color differs from structural color in that it is the same for all viewing angles, whereas structural color is the result of selective reflection or iridescence, usually because of multilayer structures. For example, butterfly wings typically contain structural color, although many butterflies have cells that contain pigment as well. [3]
The four pigments in a bird's cone cells (in this example, estrildid finches) extend the range of color vision into the ultraviolet. [1]Tetrachromacy (from Greek tetra, meaning "four" and chroma, meaning "color") is the condition of possessing four independent channels for conveying color information, or possessing four types of cone cell in the eye.
Color change is widespread in ectotherms including anoles, frogs, mollusks, many fish, insects, and spiders. [49] The mechanism behind this color change can be either morphological or physiological. Morphological change is the result of a change in the density of pigment containing cells and tends to change over longer periods of time.