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RESEARCH PRODUCT
Iridescent (angle-dependent reflectance) properties of dorsal coloration in Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768)
Enrique FontGuillem Pérez I De Lanuzasubject
0106 biological sciencesDorsumbiologyLizard05 social sciencesZoologyAnatomybiology.organism_classificationViewing angle010603 evolutionary biology01 natural sciencesReflectivityIridescencePodarcis muralisbiology.animal0501 psychology and cognitive sciencesAnimal Science and Zoology050102 behavioral science & comparative psychologyReflectance propertiesEcology Evolution Behavior and SystematicsHuedescription
Iridescence is a visual property of those surfaces that change in colour with viewing angle. Iridescence has been rarely reported in reptiles, but some snakes and lizards show this type of coloration. Here we study the effect of different angles of light incidence and observation on the spectrophotometrically assessed reflectance of dorsal coloration in the lizard Podarcis muralis. The results demonstrate clear angle dependence of several colour parameters. In particular, different angles of light incidence and observation result in changes in hue of more than 30 nm. This suggests that lizard dorsal coloration may be perceived, depending on viewing geometry, as being of different colours by a wide range of potential observers. Functional implications of iridescence in dorsal coloration are discussed.
| year | journal | country | edition | language |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016-01-01 | Amphibia-Reptilia |