POLYPTERID CAMOFLAGE

[E_americanus]

All the ornates i have seen are your basic brown with yellow dappled spots not mottled like the ie.the palmas complex

is your comment on the ornate above your opinion, and the text in the above post from the original source, or is the latter a mixture of the two?

given ornates appearance from wild, captive (large public aquaria, and private hobbyist) specimens would follow the lines of a mottled patterning, which would break up their outline. also keep in mind that the majority of fishes can change their color and pattern to some degree, so classifying them into specific groups may not always hold consistent.

good intro to camouflage, with some interesting interpretations--
--solomon

 

[beblondie]

I sat around for a cpl of days thinking where the ornate would be in my post.And must have looked at 100 pictures and finaly decided that all the pictures I have
seen and even the orntes I have had were a solid base coat of brown and that is pretty much why i put it where i put it -Anne

its a mixture i did cite the sources not that are much use without some interpretations

 

[E_americanus]

I sat around for a cpl of days thinking where the ornate would be in my post.And must have looked at 100 pictures and finaly decided that all the pictures I have
seen and even the orntes I have had were a solid base coat of brown and that is pretty much why i put it where i put it -Anne

its a mixture i did cite the sources not that are much use without some interpretations

i think some of it is open to a matter of opinion, but at the same time there needs to be some standardization made as to what particular pattern types are. in the case of the ornate pictured below, i don't know that i would say it was a base pattern of brown, but a combination of mottled patterning, stripes, and countershading (this was a relatively old specimen that i owned several years ago). young ornates also have quite a bright pattern that i wouldn't call a base of brown.

--solomon

 

[Cohazard]

fwiw, dappled and mottled are synonymous adjectives.

I have personally observed a wide diversity in pattern and color within the species ornatipinnis.

In the latest bichir of the month, you can see a very very brown and green ornate which is very beautiful, and not very common. Yes, polypterus can change the shade of their color to an extent, but an ornate like that one will never be able to look like my ornate which is what I call 'high yellow' with reduced mottled/dappled/spotted/blotched melanin pigments, over a very bright almost neon yellow color.

Even aside from color, some ornates have much more black pigment than others which will greatly effect the appearance of their pattern and ones opinion of how to describe it.


Now as if that weren't enough complexity, here's more: I have found that the slime coat of a bichir will actually distort to an extent, the appearance of the true pattern on it's scales.

In the image below is a wild collected delhezi which was fresh out of the shipping bag and into my tank. You will see just behind the pectoral fin where it has scraped away it's slime coat (likely due to a previous infection of skin flukes) and the true detail of it's pattern is revealed.

What we normally perceive as a relatively solid grey color in between the black stripes, is actually a very finely mottled/dappled/blotched/spotted/etc... pattern.

 

[E_americanus]

fwiw, dappled and mottled are synonymous adjectives.

I have personally observed a wide diversity in pattern and color within the species ornatipinnis.

In the latest bichir of the month, you can see a very very brown and green ornate which is very beautiful, and not very common. Yes, polypterus can change the shade of their color to an extent, but an ornate like that one will never be able to look like my ornate which is what I call 'high yellow' with reduced mottled/dappled/spotted/blotched melanin pigments, over a very bright almost neon yellow color.

Even aside from color, some ornates have much more black pigment than others which will greatly effect the appearance of their pattern and ones opinion of how to describe it.


Now as if that weren't enough complexity, here's more: I have found that the slime coat of a bichir will actually distort to an extent, the appearance of the true pattern on it's scales.

In the image below is a wild collected delhezi which was fresh out of the shipping bag and into my tank. You will see just behind the pectoral fin where it has scraped away it's slime coat (likely due to a previous infection of skin flukes) and the true detail of it's pattern is revealed.

What we normally perceive as a relatively solid grey color in between the black stripes, is actually a very finely mottled/dappled/blotched/spotted/etc... pattern.

i definitely agree about the complexity of pattern among bichirs and really all fishes...this is why it is hard to try to simplify them into standardized pattern categories. as for the slime/pattern issue, you are right, and this actually happens with many many fishes, from bichirs to bowfin to gars and several others--
--solomon

 

[beblondie]

Ok I tried to simplify a complex subject by picking out the what i considered the most prominent feature and it bit me on the bum I apoligize to the forum-Anne

 

[E_americanus]

Ok I tried to simplify a complex subject by picking out the what i considered the most prominent feature and it bit me on the bum I apoligize to the forum-Anne

no need to apologize at all, the topic spurred discussion on the topic, which i think would be a positive product of the post. it should be established that a lot of these concepts are difficult to summarize and classify, which is why discussion is most useful to make progress towards classification.--
--solomon

 

[ewurm]

I think it's a good thread. I was just wondering about good choices for tank deco and I saw your discussion. Most of the time I'm trying to figure out how to negate their excellent camoflaging abilities so I can see my fish!

 

[oregonian]

IMO as well as general appearance using what they are using to camoflage with should be considered. I think this was a great idea, like cohazard said to help understand the deco to be used. However i will more likely use it the opposite way to increase my bichirs habitat to hide them, hopefully increasing their hunting instinct and drive

I think the grouping was great, with maybe a note that variance occurs and may alter the visual group. Besides alot of new delhezi could almost be grouped with solid as they are losing their bold stripes.

Do not fret beblondie, i still worship you and i really would like to see more info where different sp. of polys are commonly found in rivers.

 

[davcheng]

yep, not trying to call you out or anything, just wondering about the thought process and maybe getting some verification on why things were ordered they way they were