Research shows that color signals, such as warning colors and courtship colors, became common in evolution about 100 million years ago, influencing communication and survival in the animal kingdom
Striking colors are an integral part of communication between animals, and they are used for a variety of purposes such as courtship, warning of danger and even encouraging the distribution of seeds and pollen in plants. A peacock, for example, proudly displays its impressive tail to attract females, and other examples include poisonous frogs in South and Central America and colorful snakes that scare away predators.
In a new study from the University of Arizona, led by Prof. John Vines, the researchers analyzed the evolutionary timeline of color vision in animals and the roles of "salient colors" such as red, yellow, orange, blue and purple. The findings, published in the journal Biological Reviews, indicate that color vision evolved about 500 million years ago, long before the appearance of colorful fruits and flowers.
The research focuses on two main types of colored signals in animals - warning signals and courtship signals, as well as colored signals of plants in fruits and flowers. The researchers discovered that warning signals evolved about 150 million years ago, while courtship signals appeared only about 100 million years ago.
"We've seen a dramatic explosion of color signals in the last 100 million years of evolution," Wiens noted. The researchers estimate that key groups such as finned fish in marine environments, birds and reptiles on land drove the spread of the warning signals.
It is interesting to note that warning signals are five times more common than courtship signals, and do not require developed color vision on the part of the transmitting animal. On the other hand, courtship signals require advanced vision to enable color communication between males and females, so they are common only in groups that have developed eyes, such as vertebrates and arthropods.
The researchers seek to deepen the understanding of the causes of the ability to see specific colors such as red or blue in the future.
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