this post was submitted on 11 Apr 2025
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Science Memes

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[–] VivianRixia@piefed.social 79 points 3 months ago (30 children)

So was it just random that their fur is orange and not green? As both would help hunt prey just as well. Or is the advantage of being orange, that it wards away other tigers and predators that might otherwise muscle into its territory and create conflict.

[–] Catoblepas@lemmy.blahaj.zone 184 points 3 months ago (15 children)

It’s also orange because mammals can’t produce green pigments, so orange is the next best thing if your prey is red-green colorblind.

[–] InverseParallax@lemmy.world 105 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (5 children)

Our primary outer protein is basically keratin, which can be tinted orange(carotene), beige (collagen) or brown/black (melanin).

The green pigment is a byproduct of bilirubin catabolism, which we don't have because we use a different pathway to metabolize and recycle it.

[–] RampantParanoia2365@lemmy.world 3 points 3 months ago (1 children)

the green pigment? What green pigment?

[–] InverseParallax@lemmy.world 28 points 3 months ago

For reptiles and other stuff, we don't have those.

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