countershading
Sign in to savethumb|upright=1.35|Many animals, such as this grey reef shark, are countershaded. thumb|Illustration from the artist Abbot Thayer's 1909 book on camouflage of a Luna [[caterpillar Actias lunaa) in position b) inverted.]]
Article
21 sectionsContents
- Early research
- Application
- In animals
- Counter-illumination
- Military
- Function
- Flattening and background matching when viewed from the side
- Background matching from above or below
- Outline obliteration from above
- Non-camouflage theories
- Evidence
- Mechanism
- Reverse countershading
- Examples in animals
- See also
- Notes
- References
- Bibliography
- Pioneering books
- General reading
- Journals
thumb|upright=1.35|Many animals, such as this grey reef shark, are countershaded. thumb|Illustration from the artist Abbot Thayer's 1909 book on camouflage of a Luna [[caterpillar Actias lunaa) in position b) inverted.]]
Countershading, or '''Thayer's law''', is a method of camouflage in which an animal's coloration is darker on the top or upper side and lighter on the underside of the body. This pattern is found in many species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, and insects, both in predators and in prey.