There’s a reason fashion designers look to animal prints for inspiration. Creatures have evolved a dizzying array of patterns: stripes, spots, diamonds, chevrons, hexagons and even mazelike designs.

Some patterns arise simply or randomly, but others develop via complex, precise interactions of pattern-generating systems. Their beauty aside, the intricacies of these systems are inspiring the ...

The zebrafish, a small fresh water fish, owes its name to a striking pattern of blue stripes alternating with golden stripes. Three major pigment cell types, black cells, reflective silvery cells, and ...

Scientists think they have solved how the zebra got its stripes - and the answer is far from black and white. They say the distinctive monochrome pattern keeps the animals cool under the hot African ...

A gene called Alx3 blocks the differentiation of pigment-producing cells in the skin of the African striped mouse, thus generating the mouse's characteristic light-colored stripes, a new study shows.

Chipmunks and other rodents’ light stripes are painted with a recycled brush, a new study suggests. A protein previously known to guide facial development was repurposed at least twice during ...

Folktales from across the world have a zillion theories about how the tiger got its stripes. But when it comes to the smaller cousin of the big cats—our familiar furry friends, the domestic cats—there ...

In The Second Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling tells the story of the first tiger, who killed a buck during a time of peace. As punishment, the first elephant commanded the jungle’s trees and creepers to ...