Blue Animals: Learn about five examples and understand the reasons behind the rare coloration | Biodiversity

One of the favorite colors of many people and is very common in landscapes, as the ocean and sky are blue, this color is very rare when it comes to the animal world. While there are plenty of green, yellow, and red animals, for example, there are almost no blue animals.

The main reason blue is so hard to find is the relatively small range of pigments that cause coloration in animals. Some colors are more common due to the ability of animals to produce pigments of that color, or to absorb them from the food they eat. For example, one of the most common pigments in the animal world, melanin is responsible for the brown or black color in the fur or coat of most mammals and the feathers of some birds. Meanwhile, the red and orange pigments are produced by carotenoids in plants and algae, which animals like shrimp and lobsters consume provide this color in them.

However, most organisms in the animal kingdom are unable to produce blue pigments. The blue color in animals is usually the result of eating food, or most often, the result of structural effects such as iridescence, an optical phenomenon that makes certain types of surfaces reflect the colors of the rainbow, or selective reflectance, that is, the ability to absorb some colors of the solar spectrum and reflect others.

Here are some examples of blue animals.

“the blue Dragon

Blue sea dragon It is a kind of strange-looking slug that feeds on the dangerous Portuguese caravel (Physalia physalis), which is famous for its poisonous weeds that can kill fish and sometimes humans. Their blue coloration acts as a form of camouflage, allowing the sea slug to blend in with the blue of the ocean and making it difficult for predators such as seabirds flying over the water to spot them. In addition to absorbing the pigmentation that gives it its blue color, this sea slug is also able to absorb caravel webs and use them to defend itself or to hunt prey.

Mandarin fish

mandarin fish skin (Magnificent Synchiropus), which live in Pacific waters, contain cells known as cyanophores that have organelles called cyanosomes, which produce blue pigments. Cyanophores aren’t the only pigment-producing cells in fish’s skin, which explains the orange stripes that adorn their bodies. Because of their bright and colorful patterns, tangerine dragons are popular fish for aquariums.

Blue iguana

blue iguana (Cyclora Louise), endemic to Grand Cayman Island, has the longest lifespan of any lizard, living up to 69 years. As they mature, these lizards become more blue. However, mature lizards have the ability to change color and often turn gray to blend in with the rocks in their habitat. A blue iguana will only turn blue when it comes into contact with other members of its kind, either to communicate with them or to establish its territory.

Blue poison dart frog

blue poison frog (Dendrobates tinctorius “Azorius”) is found in the forests of southern Suriname and northern Brazil. The blue color alerts predators that it is toxic, a phenomenon known as aposematism, caused by the structure of its skin cells. Frog skin contains a layer of cells called xanthophores, which produce yellow pigments and rest on a layer of cells called iridophores. When light strikes a frog’s skin, it passes through the xanthophoric layer into the iris layer, which scatters blue light back through the xanthophores.

Blue jay

The Blue Jay (Cyanosita cristata) produces melanin, which means that, in theory, it should make your feathers darker. However, the tiny air sacs in the bird’s feathers scatter the light, making it appear blue to our eyes. This scattering of light in the blue jay’s plumage is very similar to Rayleigh scattering, the phenomenon responsible for answering the age-old question “Why is the sky blue?”

Lobsters are almost always green or brown, but on very rare occasions—about one in two million—one is blue. This coloration is caused by a genetic mutation that causes lobsters to produce an excessive amount of a specific protein that gives them that color.