Melanism evolution in the cat family is influenced by intraspecific communication under low visibility.

Melanism in the cat family has been associated with functions including camouflage, thermoregulation and parasite resistance. Here we investigate a new hypothesis proposing that the evolution of melanism in cats has additionally been influenced by communication functions of body markings. To evaluat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Maurício Eduardo Graipel, Juliano André Bogoni, Eduardo Luís Hettwer Giehl, Felipe O Cerezer, Nilton Carlos Cáceres, Eduardo Eizirik
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2019-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0226136