Orange Alligator

As a colour biologist this recent post documenting an orange alligator caught my attention. Apparently, this is a rare phenomenon in alligators, so having been able to get close enough to take this shot was very fortunate. Here, is a link to a blog on the story (http://www.treehugger.com/natural-sciences/70-year-old-woman-discovers-worlds-first-orange-alligator.html). Although the crocodilia order is not particularly specious, it is interesting that integument colours vary so little within the order. While the skin of many smaller reptiles is dramatically coloured and useful for sexual selection, crocodilia possess surprisingly little this colour diversity.

Animal Planet Blog