The stripes and spotted coat patterns break up the
animal’s outline, rendering it less visible. Although cats
are predators, cryptic coloration is no less an advantage
to them, as it aids them in moving undetected toward
their prey.
Cryptic coloration evolves between an animal and its
environment, but the selection pressures are actually
based less on the physical environment than on the
presence of other animals. Prey evolves to be concealed
from predators, and predators evolve to be concealed
from prey. The whole process is what evolutionary
biologists term an evolutionary arms race. But the
race is not always about concealment; it may take
on a different look entirely. Some animals are pretty
obvious. Why might that be?Warning Coloration: Don’t Tread on
MeCute Little Dangerous Frogs
Although many animals are cryptic, some are exactly
the opposite, standing out rather than blending in.
Many groups of tropical butterflies and caterpillars as
well as some snakes and frogs are brilliantly colored
and stand out dramatically. There they are— you can’t
miss them!
Consider the small (5.5 cm/about 2.2 in) frogs of the
family Dendrobatidae, the poison- dart frogs, which are
common in many areas of Central America and northern
South America. These colorful frogs hop nonchalantly inPlates 11- 21– 11- 24. These four photos illustrate some of the poison- dart frogs. Note how obvious they are, how easy to see.
That characteristic serves to warn would- be predators of potential danger. Photos 11- 21, 23, 24 by James Adams; photo 11- 22
by Dennis Paulson.Plate 11- 21. Plate 11- 22.Plate 11- 23. Plate 11- 24.chapter 11 evolutionary arms races: more coevolution, more complexity 185