Example 5c

All images copyright protected, © Doug Segar and Elaine Stamman Segar.

Just in case you are still finding it hard to make out the seahorse in the previous photograph, here is another photograph of the head of the same seahorse taken in such a manner as to maximize the contrast between it and its background.

The eye is generally the easiest part of an animal to distinguish. It is also the most difficult to camouflage. However, note the radial markings around the eye of this seahorse. This type of marking is often found around the eye in camouflaged species. They make the eye less obvious by presenting several other similarly dark colored patches of different shapes around the eye itself. The radial pattern may also tend to confuse potential predators. Since many species of fish and invertebrates have vision very different from our own (for example, many do not see things in sharp focus as we do, and some see only polarization of light), it is very difficult to investigate and confirm such hypotheses.