coloration or pigmentation in animals in which the dorsal surface is dark in appearance and the ventral surface light, so that viewed from either above (dark on dark) or below (light on
Although Castoria differs in numerous aspects with respect to Deltamys, both share weak countershading, a moderately long tail, and the general "soricine" external aspect.
The skin shows countershading, which even today is "a common form of camouflage in which an animal's underside is lighter than its back," a statement from Cell Press, publisher of the journal where the study appeared Thursday, said.
American artist Abbott Thayer (1849--1921), well known for his paintings of angels and nature scenes, recognized that the light colors and countershading that help camouflage aquatic birds could be similarly useful in concealing naval vessels.
Scientists studied the well-preserved remains of a dinosaur and found that it exhibited a defense mechanism similar to camouflage in present-day animals, called countershading.
Another subtle variation of these two patterns is Countershading, in which the chromatophores on the dorsal surfaces of the squid are in a rather uniform light expansion (a s in Clear or Basic Amber) while the ventral portions of the animal are light (probably with help from the many iridophores in the dermis; see Cooper et al.