Have you ever heard of mimicry? Do you know how animals camouflage themselves? we are going to explain everything to you. Let’s get started!
Mimicry
Mimicry is an extraordinary ability that certain animals possess to survive. This ability allows them to adopt an appearance very similar to that of other organisms in their environment or to the environment itself. It is a very effective method to deceive other animals. Either to hunt or to protect themselves. The most common mimicry that animals adopt is visual. That is, they physically manage to resemble another organism or the environment. However, there are other types of mimicry. These can be olfactory, auditory and even tactile… Does any animal come to mind that knows how to blend in very well with the environment? Surely you have thought of the chameleon, one of the main kings of mimicry. Chameleons are capable of changing their color depending on the environment they are in. Incredible true?
Mimicry is not usually an isolated phenomenon in this type of living being. It is usually combined with other phenomena as impressive as this one. For example crisis or aposematic. Let us study these other phenomena more calmly.
Mimicry and crisis
Although many animals mimic for camouflage, mimicry should not be confused with crisis (camouflage). However, neither should we think that they are isolated phenomena. Many animals are capable of combining both in their ability to change with respect to the environment. As a general rule, the difference between mimicry and camouflage is what the animal manages to resemble.
- Mimicry is considered when its appearance is modified to resemble other living beings in its environment.
- Camouflage or crisis is considered when the living being resembles its own environment to ensure its survival.
This article on 12 Animal Masters of Camouflage will surely interest you as well.
Mimicry and aposematic
Aposematic is another phenomenon by which living things take on an appearance similar to the warning features of other species. This type of action is very common in harmless animals. It is an excellent defense system to confuse the predators that surround it. It can be considered as the antithesis of crisis or camouflage. You have to think that with aposematic what is expected is to attract attention and make the rest of the predators think that they are facing a dangerous organism.
It is common for aposematic to develop in animals with fewer defensive means. For example a stinger or fangs. Can you think of any animal that uses aposematic in its color? For example wasps and skunks are two of the best known cases of aposematic. Their striking colors are a clear warning that it is better not to approach them. Aposematic, like mimicry, does not have to be only visual. It can be loud. Rattlesnakes use it very well.
There are certain plants that also use aposematic to protect themselves but they are truly rare species. Normally, plants practice a completely opposite phenomenon, that of attraction, in order to pollinate and reproduce.
Mysticism and aposematic often go hand in hand among animals. On many occasions, mimicry and apostasy are combined in plants with the intention of attracting pollinators. The plants that most use a combination of mimicry and apostasy are orchids. These plants are capable of creating not only a visual lure, but also an olfactory one. So his level of mimicry is truly fine. Male orchids often use this technique to attract pollinating insects. They blend in aroma and color with the female orchids so that the insects come to them.
Types of mimicry
We can divide mimicry into three main types.
- Auto mimicry
- Bayesian mimicry
- Mullein mimicry
Auto mimicry
In this type of mimicry, one part of the animal’s body mimics another that is more vulnerable. In this way, the animal diverts the attention of predators to less vulnerable areas of its body. A very good trick to be able to run away from an attack and survive it. Can you think of any animal that uses self-mimicry to protect itself? A very good example is that of butterflies or certain types of fish. Butterflies auto mimic their wings with circular shapes reminiscent of eyes. The fish, for example, do the same with their tails, creating shapes reminiscent of celli. In this way, if predators attack, they will do so in these areas because they think that it is the most vulnerable part: the head. This will give the butterflies and certain fish precious time to flee and survive the attack.
However, there are other scientific currents that consider this type of mimicry in butterflies and fish to be of the Mullein type. They think that what their owner intends is to imitate more dangerous animals with their composition of circles and celli. That is, they do not intend to draw attention to that part but to scare the strongest predator.
Bayesian mimicry
Bayesian mimicry was first discovered by Henry Walter Bates, hence its name. This English naturalist and explorer who lived in the second half of the 19th century dedicated part of his life to studying this phenomenon in the Amazon. Bates observed that some harmless animals copied the appearance of more dangerous ones to protect themselves. This phenomenon was baptized under the name of Bayesian mimicry.
This type of mimicry causes two or more species to resemble each other in appearance. One of these species is characterized by being naturally endowed with defense mechanisms against predators. These mechanisms are usually the stingers, the thorns, and even the expulsion of certain very toxic chemicals. The species that mimics the most aggressive is usually harmless and lacks defense mechanisms. That is why they adopt an aspect similar to the first as a natural protection.
Bayesian mimicry is present in both plants and animals. Among the plants we can observe it in a type of orchid that turns its colors imitating those of other plants so that the pollinators of that specific species are attracted to them.
Mullein mimicry
Mullein mimicry is named after the German naturist Franz Müller. In the year 1878 he proposed this denomination to a very curious phenomenon that he had observed. This phenomenon occurs between two or more species that have certain dangerous characteristics and share one or more predators. In this case, the species mimics the warning signs of the other species to appear even more “lethal” to their predators.
The difference with Bayesian mimicry is simple. In this case, both species have natural protection mechanisms. In Bayesian mimicry, however, one of the species lacks them and resorts to mimicry to appear to have them. In the case of Mullein mimicry, both species copy each other and serve as a model for the other to become even more aggressive and dangerous in the face of potential predators. The predator, or signal receiver, is doubly fooled by both species.
According to some experts, this type of mimicry would not be such because both species really have protection mechanisms. By having its own “honest” warning signs, part of the scientific community does not believe that it can be considered mimicry.
Some famous cases of mimicry
Among the most famous cases of mimicry that we all know, the following stand out:
The chameleon
The chameleon is an expert in the art of mimicry and apostasy. It is able to blend in perfectly with its surroundings and go completely unnoticed by its predators. This ability in them is so famous that the term “chameleon” is applied to those people capable of adapting adequately to everything. For example, being a chameleon is a very interesting quality for actors and actresses.
Leaf insects
Leaf insects are able to go unnoticed among all kinds of predators. Even among humans. Their color is excellent for going completely unnoticed during the day, when they are inactive. Being completely still during the day it is very easy to mistake them for a leaf. Its appearance is very similar even to leaves that have already been chewed by animals or seem about to die.
The wolf spider
This type of spider is characterized by spending much of its time on the ground between natural cracks or digging small vertical galleries. Although they do not make hunting nets for their prey, some create a kind of silk net to protect their shelters from potential predators. They have very robust legs and the males are in charge of courting the females with a kind of dance.
In addition, their mimicry is so high that it is almost impossible to differentiate them from the stones among which they spend most of the day. They use their ability to camouflage not only to protect themselves from different predators but also to hunt. They wait calm and still until their victim approaches to hunt them down.
The stone fish
This fish became world famous with the movie The Blue Lake, where a very young Brooke Shields stepped on one of these fish. It inhabits tropical waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. It is very common to run into them in Australian waters and in the Malay Archipelago.
It is a very poisonous variety of actinopterygian fish. Contact with its spines can cause death in humans. At the moment in which it activates its camouflage, it is impossible to differentiate it from a rock, so it is quite common to accidentally step on it. Stonefish venom has been compared to cobra venom for its toxicity. The sharpest peak of pain is reached an hour after being pricked with one of its spikes. Among the reactions that can be suffered are dizziness, vomiting, severe headache, high blood pressure, intestinal spasms, and seizures. An adult individual can even fall into a coma. These “pecks” must be treated immediately. Otherwise, they can cause cardiorespiratory failure and death.
If you visit any of the paradisiacal islands that are in contact with these oceans, do not forget the stone fish and the consequences of stepping on it. They are usually located on the coast and are practically invisible both to their prey and to their possible predators.
The octopuses
The octopus blends in an incredible way with the environment. These octopods are able to go unnoticed by everyone. Do you remember the movie Finding Dory? One of the main characters was precisely an octopus that continuously blended into the environment to go unnoticed among humans.
