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Many types of mimicry have been described. An overview of each follows, highlighting the similarities and differences between the various forms. Classification is often based on function with respect to the mimic (e.g., avoiding harm).
- Overview
- Batesian mimicry
mimicry, in biology, phenomenon characterized by the superficial resemblance of two or more organisms that are not closely related taxonomically. This resemblance confers an advantage—such as protection from predation—upon one or both organisms by which the organisms deceive the animate agent of natural selection. The agent of selection (which may be, for example, a predator, a symbiont, or the host of a parasite, depending on the type of mimicry encountered) interacts directly with the similar organisms and is deceived by their similarity. This type of natural selection distinguishes mimicry from other types of convergent resemblance that result from the action of other forces of natural selection (e.g., temperature, food habits) on unrelated organisms.
In the most-studied mimetic relationships, the advantage is one-sided, one species (the mimic) gaining advantage from a resemblance to the other (the model). Since the discovery of mimicry in butterflies in the mid-19th century, a great many plants and animals have been found to be mimetic. In many cases the organisms involved belong to the same class, order, or even family, but numerous instances are known of plants mimicking animals and vice versa. Although the best-known examples of mimicry involve similarity of appearance, investigations have disclosed fascinating cases in which the resemblance involves sound, smell, behaviour, and even biochemistry.
A key element in virtually every mimetic situation is deception by the mimic, perpetrated upon a third party, which mistakes the mimic for the model. This third party may be the collective potential predators upon the mimic, potential prey of a predacious mimic, or even one sex of the mimic’s own species. In some cases, such as host mimicry by parasites, the organism deceived is the model.
Because of the variety of situations in which mimicry occurs, a formal definition must rest upon the effect of certain key communicative signals upon the appropriate receiver and the resultant evolutionary effect upon the emitters of the signals. Mimicry may be defined as a situation in which virtually identical signals, emitted by two different organisms, have in common at least one receiver that reacts in the same manner to both signals because it is advantageous to react in that manner to one of them (that of the model), although it may be disadvantageous to react thus to the counterfeit signal.
Britannica Quiz
Biology Bonanza
In 1862 the English naturalist Henry W. Bates published an explanation for unexpected similarities in appearance between certain Brazilian forest butterflies of two distinct families. Members of one family, the Heliconiidae, are unpalatable to birds and are conspicuously coloured; members of the other family, the Pieridae, are edible to predators. Bates concluded that the conspicuous coloration of the inedible species must serve as a warning for predators that had learned of their inedibility through experience. The deceptively similar colour patterns of the edible species would provide protection from the same predators. This form of mimicry, in which a defenseless organism bears a close resemblance to a noxious and conspicuous one, is called Batesian, in honour of its discoverer.
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21 de abr. de 2022 · Types of Mimicry. There are many types of mimicry. Some may be aggressive mimicry and others may be defensive mimicry. There is also reproductive and automimicry as well. It also depends on the use of the act. Defense. When organisms utilize defensive mimicry, they can avoid potentially deadly situations by convincing attackers that ...
Different Types of Mimicry Mimicry occurs in several different forms, depending on the mimic’s needs. Animals use several different types of mimicry for protection. The tiger leafwing butterflies discussed above exhibit Batesian mimicry.
This framework accommodates the three general types of mimicry commonly recognized today (aggressive, Batesian, Müllerian), and highlights a fourth, often overlooked form, for which I suggest the term ‘rewarding mimicry’. Here mimicry is organized according to two axes: information content and deceptiveness.
- Gabriel A. Jamie
- 2017
Fundamental characteristics of mimicry are determined mainly by behavioral properties of the signal receiver. A precise knowledge of the identity of the receiver and a thorough study of its behaviour are therefore indispensable for the understanding of mimicry. Moreover, mimicry gradually merges into other sender–receiver systems.
12 de ene. de 2017 · The huge diversity of mimicry resemblances has probably led mimicry theory to develop, on the one hand, towards typological and classificatory reasoning and on the other hand, towards structural thinking and formalisation of mimicry as a notion.
