Living Color by Steve Jenkins

Author:Steve Jenkins
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

How do animal colors evolve?

When animals reproduce, the babies usually grow up to look like their parents. The offspring of two green frogs will, most of the time, become green frogs themselves. Occasionally, though, a different-looking frog is born. This can be caused by a mutation, the appearance of a trait that was not present in either parent. A mutation might result in a white or yellow frog being born. Most mutations make it harder for an animal to survive. A yellow frog will be probably easier for a bird or snake to spot, and it won't live very long. Sometimes, though, a mutation can be helpful. Perhaps the climate has been getting drier and there are fewer green trees and more yellow grass in the frog's environment. In this case, the yellow frog might have a good chance of surviving and passing on its color to babies of its own. This process is called natural selection. It's the basis of evolution, and it is how new colors—and, eventually, new kinds of animals—appear. It is the reason there are so many different kinds of animals, and why they are found in so many different colors.

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