CBD seminar: Are mammals colourful? New insights into colour macroevolution Dr Catherine Sheard, University of Aberdeen

CBD seminar with Dr Catherine Sheard, University of Aberdeen.

Many mammals are considered ‘dull', unpatterned brown, grey, or tan. Classically, this is attributed to strong selection for crypsis, combined with ecological factors that disfavour visual signals, such as nocturnality and dichromatic vision.

Comparative studies of interspecific variation in mammalian colouration and patterning, however, sometimes paint a different story. This seminar will cover the surprising evolutionary drivers of some key colouration traits, including sexual dichromatism, bold black-and-white patterning and neonatal colouration, and discuss how and why convention wisdom breaks down in this group.