Obviously, Dick's Robin suit (and likely Jason's) is exempt from this, as they were modelled off the Flying Grayson's suits, but Tim's (or whoever first debuts the black cape with the yellow inner lining) Robin suit may actually have a role in camouflage. There's a principle called countershading, and it's usually seen when an animal's colouring is darker on the top/upper side and lighter on the underside, and you'll see this in sharks, mammals, birds, et cetera.
In theory, the lighter underside of the cape, particularly as the Bats spend a lot of time descending from rafters/backlit/operating under variable light conditions, could be useful as camouflage under the cover of darkness.
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Any idea on what my girl Bunny’s fur is like? When we adopted her she started as an almost all black Shiba, and now her face and legs are totally red. Also she is Shaped :3
Hi Bunny! She is shaped indeed, and is a black saddle tan with strong urajiro/countershading.
ky/ky ASIP^BS/- E/- D/- B/- S/-
Saddle tan dogs are born dark, and then the tan "creeps" as they grow - check out newborn vs. adult Airedales for a nice example.
Hello! Why did penguins evolve to have black feathers if they live in icy (mostly white?) locations? I understand them having a white tummy because when swimming they could be more difficult to identify by a predator swimming below them? Thanks!
Love your blog!
Hello! So, here's what I learned at uni:
the widely-accepted reason penguins have black feathers is the same reason they have white tummies, but backwards. When swimming, they are more difficult to identify by a predator swimming above them! You can see similar countershading in sharks and dolphins, and also on land animals like mountain goats and lizards. Overall, it helps to make animals less obvious when viewing from the side, because it reduces the obviousness of their shadow.
As to why penguins have black feathers in icy, mostly white, locations (on LAND), you need to consider why it would be good to be white in an icy, white location in the first place!
Mostly, it would provide camouflage, which would protect from land predators! However, penguins don't really have any significant land predators in Antarctica. There are no polar bears, or big snakes, or even foxes or coyotes in Antarctica, so the penguin won't benefit from being camouflaged on land. Basically, there's no "selective pressure" for them to be all white!
some penguin chicks, however, do have to worry about a few predators, so they have a little more camouflage than the adult penguins:
What's more, there are likely advantages to black feathers in a cold environment like Antarctica! For example, in the sun, dark feathers absorb more thermal energy, helping to warm the penguin and maintain their body heat.
There may also be some stuff with black feathers being more resistant to wear/ friction drag in the water, but that's entering the realm of ongoing research, which I won't get into here.
Let me know if there's anything that needs clarifying!
(some citations if anyone wants further reading:)
Bonser, R. H. (1995). Melanin and the abrasion resistance of feathers. The Condor, 97(2), 590-591.
Ksepka, D. T. (2016). The penguin's palette--more than black and white: this stereotypically tuxedo-clad bird shows that evolution certainly can accessorize. American Scientist, 104(1), 36-44.
Rowland, H. M. (2009). From Abbott Thayer to the present day: what have we learned about the function of countershading?. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 364(1516), 519-527.
Zagrai, A., & Hassanalian, M. (2020, July). Penguin coloration affects skin friction drag. In 2020 Gulf Southwest Section Conference.
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Sinosauropteryx, first described in 1996, was the first dinosaur outside of Avialae (birds and immediate relatives) to be found with direct evidence of feathers. Additionally, fossils of Sinosauropteryx preserved pigmentation, showing direct evidence that the dinosaur had a dark and white banded tail, and possibly displayed countershading, that is, it had a lighter belly and darker back.
There are a plethora of prominent examples of the mutual influence between the arts and sciences: Leonardo De Vinci, Albert Einstein, Maria Sibylla Merian, Hedy Lemarr, Geothe. The painter behind today’s Science Saturday offering, Abbott H. Thayer, did indeed make some lasting contributions to natural science, most notably on the role of countershading nature, sometimes referred to as Thayer’s Law, and on disruptive patterning. His writings on animal camouflage were influential in the development of tactical camouflage during World War I, urged on by Thayer himself.
Published in New York in 1909 by Macmillan, Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom: An Exposition of the Laws of Disguise Through Color and Pattern: Being a Summary of Abbott H. Thayer’s Discoveries was the culmination of Thayer’s work on the subject. Authorship is credited to Gerald H. Thayer, with his father Abbott H. Thayer’s contributing an introductory essay and many of the illustrations. The elder and younger Thayers collaborated extensively on the book, which was printed in New York at The Trow Press, with lithographs and half-tone prints by A. Hoen & Co. of Baltimore.Â
Despite the aforementioned lasting contributions, the book received scathing criticism from the scientific and naturalist community, including being roundly mocked by Theodore Roosevelt. While some of Thayer’s observations were sound, he insisted that every aspect of animal coloration was rooted in camouflage, a theory that lacked scientific rigor. Take the example of the flamingo (illustrated in the final image above): Thayer argues that their vibrant plumage is camouflage because, for a brief period during sunrise and sunset, the animals might appear to blend into the horizon when viewed by predators from below the water line. There is no attempt to explain how their bright pink hue might help them escape predation for the other 23 or so hours of the day.
