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First published online September 9, 2003

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Rapid colour changes in multilayer reflecting stripes in the paradise whiptail, Pentapodus paradiseus

L. M. Mäthger^1,*, M. F. Land², U. E. Siebeck¹ and N. J. Marshall¹

¹ Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Centre, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia
² Sussex Centre for Neuroscience, School of Biological Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QG, UK

View larger version (81K): [in a new window]   Fig. 1. (A) Reflective stripes of a paradise whiptail, Pentapodus paradiseus (body length, 15 cm). (B) Reflective changes of the facial stripes from blue (a), through green (b), to red (c) and back via yellow (d) and green (e) to blue (f). Approximate times (in seconds) are shown in the top left corner of each photograph.

View larger version (25K): [in a new window]   Fig. 2. (A) Spectral measurements of reflective changes in a living fish (data normalised). 1, 2 and 3 indicate the phases shown in Fig. 1B. (B) Ratio of reflectance half-width to the peak wavelength (/max, where is the bandwidth at 50% reflectivity, and max is the peak wavelength). Reflectance half-widths increase with wavelength (see Fig. 1C), but the ratio /max changes very little. The regression line and equation are shown in red. Predicted reflectance half-widths shown in blue (after Land, 1972). (C) The effect of increasing the angle of incidence on the wavelengths reflected by the reflective stripes. With increasing angle of incidence, the reflected wavelengths shift towards the shorter (blue/UV) end of the spectrum (data normalised).

View larger version (92K): [in a new window]   Fig. 3. (A) Low-power electron micrograph of facial reflective stripe, showing a chromatophore (black pigments) surrounded by iridophore plates, which have broken away during sectioning (white gaps). (B,C) High-power electron micrographs of intact iridophore plates (electrondense regions).

View larger version (25K): [in a new window]   Fig. 4. (A) Hyposmotic saline shifts the reflected wavelengths to the longer (red) end of the spectrum. (B) Returning the preparation to saline (or adding hyperosmotic saline) shifts the reflected wavelengths back to the shorter (blue/UV) end. (C) Norepinephrine causes the reflected wavelengths to shift to the longer end of the spectrum, while (D) adenosine shifts the wavelengths back to the shorter end.