In many animals, males engage in agonistic interactions. Color signals are commonly used to mitigate these potentially harmful interactions. Both pigment-based color and structural color, notably ultraviolet coloration, are used in this context to convey information, including an animal's resource holding potential (RHP) or social status.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFColour change is involved in various functions ranging from thermo- and hydroregulation to camouflage and communication. The role of colour change in communication has received increased attention over the past few decades, yet has been studied predominantly in the context of intrasexual competition. Here, we investigate the role of colour change in mate choice in an animal that can change its colour, the panther chameleon ().
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe evolutionary history of chameleons has been predominantly studied through phylogenetic approaches as the fossil register of chameleons is limited and fragmented. The poor state of preservation of these fossils has moreover led to the origin of numerous nomen dubia, and the identification of many chameleon fossils remains uncertain. We here examine chameleon fossil fragments from the Early Pliocene Varswater formation, exposed at the locality of Langebaanweg "E" Quarry along the southwestern coast of South Africa.
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