Turing patterns in fish skin?
Article Abstract:
Shigeru Kondo and Rihito Asai's view of the time evolution of skin patterns in angelfish as the first instances of a Turing (reaction-diffusion) system are insufficient. Turing pattern fails to explain the constant insertion of new stripes between old ones as the fish grows. The capability of stripe doubling is dependent on the artificial geometrical restrictions of a one-dimensional domain. The patterning system may likely be due to an interaction of a mechanism that defines the distance between neighbouring stripes and a memory that retains the location of the old stripes.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1996
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Sheep in wolves' clothing
Article Abstract:
The bright colours of many animals often advertise that they are dangerous or unpalatable to eat. However, such aposematic coloration has previously been thought of as an evolutionary paradox, with conspicuous mutants likely to be attractive to predators who have not yet learned to associate their markings with unpleasant experiences. A new study explores the mimetic relationship between two species and concludes that the resemblance between two unpalatable species can be either Batesian or Mullerian depending on the costs and benefits to the animals of misidentification.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1998
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A reaction-diffusion wave on the skin of the marine angelfish Pomacanthus
Article Abstract:
The Turing reaction-diffusion system, a hypothetical molecular mechanism, may appear in nature as demonstrated by the marine angelfish's stripe patterns. The pattern is maintained despite body growth, requiring constant rearrangement to adapt to size changes. The stripe pattern development can be predicted by a Turing system simulation despite an unknown underlying mechanism, indicting that a reaction-diffusion system is the mechanism.
Publication Name: Nature
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0028-0836
Year: 1995
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