Peacock coloration - green versus rust

[DanInSD]

Hi there. I was wondering if anyone knew the basis of color variation in O.s. -- there seem to be "green" ones and "rust" ones. I know in some species such as N. wennerae, red ones are found deeper and green ones shallower (which can make sense given the available color spectra at those depths). Other species seem to be more "random". I've never heard anything specific regarding peacocks and chromatic polymorphism -- geographic, perhaps?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Gonodactylus]

There is some background matching and diet effects in O. scyllarus, but most of what you are seeing is a sexual color dimorphism. Mature males tend to be emerald green while mature females are more olive or brown. Juvenile have a yellowish brown coloration with a single pair of dark spots down the sides. Larger juveniles are usually olive. The males assume the green color at around 120 mm, although there is considerable variation. I've seen very large green females and brown males, but usually what I've described holds up in the field. In the aquarium, all bets are off since diet, strong light levels, etc can all affect color.

There is one true color difference between mature males and females that always seems to hold up, but no one on this list seems to have figured it out.

Roy

 

[DanInSD]

Thanks, Roy. Let's see if this one survives longer than my last attempts...

Sounds like a challenge -- shall we post pics of "known" males and females to see if we can figure it out?

Dan