From matte banded to glossy black: structures underlying colour change in the caudal lures of southern death adders (Acanthophis antarcticus, Reptilia: Elapidae). (30th January 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- From matte banded to glossy black: structures underlying colour change in the caudal lures of southern death adders (Acanthophis antarcticus, Reptilia: Elapidae). (30th January 2021)
- Main Title:
- From matte banded to glossy black: structures underlying colour change in the caudal lures of southern death adders (Acanthophis antarcticus, Reptilia: Elapidae)
- Authors:
- Crowe-Riddell, Jenna M
Dix, Stacey
Pieterman, Ludo
Nankivell, James H
Ford, Matthew
Ludington, Alastair J
Simões, Bruno F
Dunstan, Nathan
Partridge, Julian C
Sanders, Kate L
Allen, Luke - Abstract:
- Abstract: Many ambush-foraging snakes move their tails to entice prey within striking range ('caudal luring'). During ontogeny, the conspicuous hues of caudal lures change to match the cryptic patterning of the body/head. This coincides with decreased luring behaviour and reflects the trade-off between prey acquisition and camouflage as the snake grows. Australo-Papuan death adders ( Acanthophis, Elapidae) are unique in that both juveniles and adults use caudal luring, but ontogenetic colour change has not been investigated. We examined the spectral reflectance, microstructure and pigmentation of caudal skin in wild-sourced and captive bred Acanthophis antarcticus ranging in body size (snout-vent length 116–674 mm; mass 3–832 g; N = 33) to test whether colour properties change as snakes grow. We found that lure colour is distinct from the cryptic body skin across the life history, and changes from a matte banding pattern (grey/black) in neonates/juveniles, to uniform and glossy black with a yellow ventral stripe in larger snakes. These colour changes are caused by increases in dermal pigmentation and a transition to a smooth, interlocking epidermal microstructure. To understand the selection pressures that might be driving ontogenetic colour change in this species, further studies should test how different prey types respond to distinct lure morphologies.
- Is Part Of:
- Biological journal of the Linnean Society. Volume 132:Number 3(2021)
- Journal:
- Biological journal of the Linnean Society
- Issue:
- Volume 132:Number 3(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 132, Issue 3 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 132
- Issue:
- 3
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0132-0003-0000
- Page Start:
- 666
- Page End:
- 675
- Publication Date:
- 2021-01-30
- Subjects:
- caudal luring -- glossiness -- microstructure -- ontogenetic colour change -- reflectance -- structural colour
Biology -- Periodicals
Evolution (Biology) -- Periodicals
570 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/servlet/useragent?func=showIssues&code=bij ↗
https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/issue ↗
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa218 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 0024-4066
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 2075.460000
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