Protective mimicry in the cheetah, part 1

Several times, while working in the Serengeti, I have felt sheepish after mistaking the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) for the lion (Panthera leo) at a distance. Is it possible that scale-dependent protective mimicry is at work here?

The colouration of the cheetah doubles as camouflage and a kind of caricature of females of the lion (e.g. see http://www.shahrogersphotography.com/detail/3831.html and https://depositphotos.com/378326094/stock-photo-young-cheetah-hunting-thomson-gazelle.html). How this is achieved is interesting both biologically and artistically.

The spots of the cheetah are so small that, at distance, they become plain fawn. At the same time, the punctuations on the back-of-ear and tail-tip are oddly convergent with those on females of the lion:

The following show relevant views of the cheetah. Please imagine the same figures farther away in order to envisage how the features might simulate those of females of the lion: https://www.jungledragon.com/image/14135/cheetahs_in_the_serengeti.html/zoom and https://www.alamy.com/cheetah-acinonyx-jubatus-prowls-in-the-grass-on-the-masai-mara-kenya-image5222217.html and https://www.alamy.com/cheetah-acinonyx-jubatus-three-cheetahs-in-the-savannah-kenya-masai-mara-national-park-image283409116.html and https://thenextcrossing.com/masai-mara-cheetahs.

The dark marking on the back-of-ear cannot be explained as part of the camouflage colouration of the cheetah: https://www.alamy.com/close-up-view-from-behind-of-cheetah-sitting-in-long-grass-maasai-image60169338.html and https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/cheetah-acinonyx-jubatus-showing-black-markings-on-back-of-ears/FHR-10252-00236-075 and https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-an-adult-female-cheetah-and-cub-looking-away-from-the-camera-13869506.html.

Instead, it is remarkably similar to those of both the lion and the leopard (Panthera pardus).

For the lion see: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/lioness-from-behind-gm176050939-10226879 and https://www.dreamstime.com/lioness-lying-down-savannah-close-up-lioness-panthera-leo-lying-down-savannah-seen-behind-masai-mara-kenya-image116536524 and https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-missing-you-image1450410.

For the leopard see: https://dalbecphoto.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/leopard-1-of-1-3.jpg and https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/leopard-back-gm506154003-44858206 and https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-african-leopard-panthera-pardus-pardus-adult-back-view-standing-in-55855313.html and https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/starring-leopard-from-behind-gm635928796-112507411 and https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/starring-leopard-from-behind-gm635928348-112506889 and https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/stalking-leopard-from-behind-in-kruger-gm694489004-128336215 and https://www.flickr.com/photos/1328/4289292880.

If the following figures were far enough away, one might possibly be confused about their identity: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-a-cheetah-sitting-amidst-grass-and-facing-the-other-direction-with-121181097.html and https://www.alamy.com/cheetah-acinonyx-jubatus-prowls-in-the-grass-on-the-masai-mara-kenya-image5222220.html. This is partly because the tail-tip is impressionistically similar to that of females of the lion despite being unmistakably different when seen close-up.

The following show the tail-tip of the cheetah: https://www.colourbox.com/image/cheetah-on-savannah-in-africa-image-20163151 and https://www.earth.com/news/cheetah-quickly-vanishing-planet/ and http://tenrandomfacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Cheetah.jpg and https://www.alamy.com/adult-cheetah-standing-in-open-grassland-after-making-a-kill-acinonyx-jubatus-serengeti-national-park-tanzania-image281540334.html. The important point is the combination of blackish and whitish rather than their precise arrangement.

Little-known facts about the lion are that the tail-tassel is larger in females than in males, and in females and juveniles (but not mature males) there is a pale surface just proximal to the tassel, on the underside of the shaft (see https://www.dreamstime.com/african-lion-panthera-leo-cub-playing-mother-s-tail-masai-mara-park-kenya-image198635099 and https://www.dreamstime.com/lioness-tail-close-up-beautiful-cat-image208692840 and https://www.shutterstock.com/nb/video/clip-545329-lioness-tail-air-walks-off-lay-down).

The pale is only conspicuous at certain angles, because it results from sheen as much as depigmentation: https://www.shutterstock.com/nb/image-photo/lioness-sitting-on-dry-grass-relaxing-1269528727 and https://www.alamy.com/two-african-lioness-tail-up-in-green-bush-in-kruger-national-park-south-africa-specie-panthera-leo-family-of-felidae-image269554290.html and https://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-lioness-relaxing-image5733569 and https://www.alamy.com/resting-lioness-waving-away-flies-with-tail-lake-ndutu-tanzania-image246936327.html and https://www.alamy.com/female-lion-panthera-leo-waving-her-tail-unusually-high-image259098432.html and https://www.alamy.com/adult-lion-and-lioness-in-the-masai-mara-the-male-is-known-as-scar-or-scarface-due-to-damage-around-one-eye-and-he-is-the-dominat-male-in-the-pride-image211805367.html.

To be continued in part 2...

Publicado el julio 30, 2021 05:39 MAÑANA por milewski milewski

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