PahdyGnome ,

This may have already been covered but whilst there might not be mammals that appear green to human eyes there are certainly mamals that appear green to the prey/predators in their environment.

Perfect example is a tiger who (to us) stands out like a sore thumb with its orange fur but is perceived as green with black stripes through the eyes of its prey, making it very well camouflaged in the jungle.

redcalcium ,

Do you mean my cats are actually green in the eyes of it's potential prey?

thermal_shock ,

walking 🥑

betterdeadthanreddit ,

It's an avocato.

HeartyBeast ,
@HeartyBeast@kbin.social avatar

Good article here https://nature-notes.riverlegacy.org/how-come-there-are-no-blue-or-green-mammals

HonoraryMancunian ,

So I skimmed that and it seems the tldr is mammals have melanin (and I'm guessing the other animals don't)

tunetardis OP ,

Great read! That explains a lot.

I've been deep diving a bit myself and found this article that explains another thing that's puzzled me over the years. Some birds have crazy vibrant coloration that almost glistens, like peacock feathers. Outside of the zoo, I've noticed it a bit in common grackles. They look black on first glance, but when you study them closely, they have this kind of purple sheen around their heads. Apparently, it's still melanin at work here, but it's structured in a very special way.

Haus ,
@Haus@kbin.social avatar

Orions are demonstrably mammals, but unfortunately fictional.

dharmacurious ,
@dharmacurious@slrpnk.net avatar

You can't prove that. Orions are real, do not slander the Word of the great prophet Roddenberry, Peace Be Upon Him.

reddig33 ,

You’d think evolutionary, there would be at least some green mammals to help them blend into the plant life around them. Like bunnies hiding in bushes, or monkeys in trees. I suppose shades of brown work similarly in the same situations.

I know some predators don’t see color the same way humans do — could the lack of green and dominance of brown have something to do with seeing motion, or heat, or something else we don’t see?

tunetardis OP ,

Right? I guess that's what puzzles me the most about it. It must be really hard for mammals to become green since you would think it would confer an advantage in many environments you find them in.

I guess there are a lot of mammal species that kind of make themselves scarce during the broad daylight hours, so maybe green camouflage is less relevant if you're only out between dusk and dawn?

Afghaniscran ,

iirc, the reason tigers are black and orange stripey is because deers and whatever else they eat don't see orange, they see green. This blends the tiger in with the surroundings better.

HonoraryMancunian ,

That's why hunters' jackets are bright orange. Hides them from game (whilst simultaneously making them visible to other people)

Gilles_D ,

This is just a guess, but could it be that brown is more useful since mammals (at least the first ones) dwell on and in the ground, where brown would be more beneficial for survival?

DrRatso ,

At least humans have the highest sensitivity specifically around 555 nm (green).

HereToLurk ,
@HereToLurk@lemmy.world avatar

Does it count if they are glowing bunnies?

tunetardis OP ,

Ha!! You really had to go down the "rabbit hole" for that one I bet! Awesome.

fsxylo ,

"yes uhh... We need to make bunnies that glow in the dark... for medicine.... Yess."

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