Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Photo in the Public Domain
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Photo © Ashleyflashley · Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The melanistic colour-morph of the cheetah is vaguely reminiscent of the leopard, but with an anomalous patch on the side of the neck.
Although not obvious to human eyes, this spotless patch may be conspicuous to other carnivores if it resembles the neck of the female lion in reflecting ultraviolet light.
We interpret this combination of ostensibly clumsy resemblances as chimaera-mimicry – in which it is the confusion caused rather than the false identities as such that is effective in buying time for escape.
Robin and the Honey Badger, 22 March 2016
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Photo © HESC
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Photo © Jitze Couperus
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Photo © Steve Jurvetson
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus). Photo © Steve Jurvetson
Links to the images that inspired this bio-insight:
YouTube
Pinterest
Flickr 1
wildlife-pictures-online.com 1
Flickr 2
Flickr 3
wildlife-pictures-online.com 2
DeviantArt
