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The beast kingdom is a carnival of colour : There are birds that dress in Ne feather , anuran whose skin gleams in an array of metallic hue , and sea creature whose bodies glow rainbow . Just about every color you’re able to imagine exists somewhere , masquerade across an animal ’s hide , feathers or scales .
Amid this kaleidoscopic contest , which is the most colourful beast on Earth ?
A panther chameleon sports a rainbow of colors on its body.
And how to pass judgment ? Do we choose by turn and variety of semblance , or how undimmed , or how surprising they are ? The diaphanous variety of color in the animal kingdom probably make it impossible to take just one , and it quickly becomes a subjective pursuit . In fact , each of the main animal group have their own inviolable challenger .
Related : What ’s the biggest radical of beast ever recorded on Earth ?
Most colorful mammal
There are many hypothesis on show in the huge pallet of the beast kingdom . Take the mandrill ( Mandrillus sphinx ) , an Old World monkey from equatorial Africa , and one of the few truly colourful mammal . Its luminous blue face and behind are the Cartesian product of meticulously arrangedcollagen fibersthat speculate certain wavelengths to produce the graphic hue . Paired with its yellow byssus and red snout , this monkey is a challenger for the world ’s most colorful mammalian . A runner - up is the Malabar giant squirrel ( Ratufa indica ) , which are gnawer in India that sport the color orange , purple , white , brown and maroon , which may help them blend inwith the rain forest ’s vibrant colors .
Most colorful amphibian
However , mammals are easily outdone by the competition from other animal groups , like amphibians — especially the poison dart anuran where color is the default option , rather than the exception . Take the Amazon poison frog ( Ranitomeya ventrimaculata ) , whose skin shimmers in an ombre showing of red , orangish , and depressed . Then there ’s the nearly unrivaled brightness of the red - eyed Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree anuran ( Agalychnis callidryas ) , with its lime- green back , blue-blooded sides , and tangerine tree toes .
Most colorful reptile
Not to be outdone , reptiles have their own substantial contenders , — let in the San Francisco supporter snake ( Thamnophis sirtalis tetrataenia ) , dressed in luminous turquoise , ruddy and black stripes ; and the Texas coral snake ( Micrurus tener ) , ornament in bright - paint band . Then there are the sunray snake ( Xenopeltis unicolor ) and the white - lipped python ( Leiopython albertisii ) , two specie that gleam in all the colour of the rainbow when the Dominicus strike their iridescent scale , thanks to nanostructures callediridophoresthat refract illumination .
The Broadley ’s matted lizard ( Platysaurus broadleyi ) packs a rainbow onto its small dead body , with its sapphire - depressed summit and Lucy in the sky with diamonds - yellow and orange legs popping against the beige rock music where it suns itself in its native southerly Africa . Meanwhile , a different genus is the favourite ofJohn J. Wiens , professor of environmental science and evolutionary biota at the University of Arizona : " One of the most colorful and interesting groups that I have turn with are spiny lizards ( Sceloporus ) in northern Mexico , " he say , describing fauna withvivid gloomy and crimson plate .
But eclipsing all of these reptiles perhaps is the panther chameleon ( Furcifer pardalis ) , a beast so colored , it count as though it ’s wearing a tie - dyed onesie .
A mandrill cares for its young baby.
Most colorful bird
When it come to birds , " hummingbirds may havethe most diverse colors , " Wiens said . Just conceive the breathtaking hue of the fiery - throated hummingbird ( Panterpe insignis ) , and the rainbow starfrontlet ( Coeligena iris ) .
Related : Are birds dinosaurs ?
Most colorful fish
Some of the most colorful puppet , however , may reside below the waves — especially in the polychromatic world of coral reefs , where many animal wear outfits to match their home ground . Some of the brightest contenders are fairy wrasses ( Cirrhilabrus ) and flasher wrasses ( Paracheilinus ) , whose scale are so saturated in pink , vermillion , yellow and puritanic that they almost do n’t depend real . The algae - grazing rainbow polly fish ( Scarus guacamaia ) stuns in magenta , mint , and turquoise — producing color combinations that change throughout its life .
Most colorful cephalopod, mollusk or nudibranch
And a Brobdingnagian fellowship of reef - graze mollusc known as nudibranchs ( Nudibranchia ) collectively leave no color uninfluenced .
One of the most impressive coral reef resident is the peacock mantis shrimp ( Odontodactylus scyllarus ) ; researcher think its psychedelic armour might reflect its uniquely complex vision , which can detect ultraviolet light andcircularly polarizedlight . " Given that circular - polarized visual modality is really rare , the inherent assumption is that these mantis shrimps aresignaling to one another ! " Vinod Saranathan , an associate prof of biological science at the School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences at Krea University in India , differentiate Live Science .
— Why are animals so colourful ?
An Amazon dart frog has many hues.
— What color were the dinosaurs ?
— Do animals embrace each other ?
Elsewhere in the more sober midwaters of the sea , comb jelly ( Ctenophora ) release rare flashes of color . These creatures practice the fast pulse motion of hair - like structures call cilia to propel them through the water supply , and as these curving hairs refract the lightness , they make the gist of a rainbow radiating through the creature ’s body .
A San Francisco garter snake scales a branch.
But perhaps the most spectacular display of color from a sea creature of all hails from that great family of color magicians , the cephalopod mollusk . A change regalia of colors bloom restlessly across the cobweb skin of therainbow cover octopus(Tremoctopus spp . ) , an exceedingly rare creature found in tropic and subtropical seas .
With its ever - shifting canvas producing a unvarying stream of color , could this devilfish be our winner ?
A wild hummingbird sips nectar in western Costa Rica.
A multicolor Lubbock’s fairy wrasse
