Abstract
THE results of recent experiments of mine have shown that our conception of the nature of the background response in Amphibia is inadequate and must be extended. When Rana temporaria is kept on an illuminated black background for several weeks, melanin granules are dispersed in the melanophores and the amount of melanin in the skin is increased. Conversely, when the animal is kept on a white background, melanin granules are aggregated in the pigment cells and the amount of melanin in the skin is decreased. In short, additive and subtractive processes are operative. Both effects have been observed by means of photometric determinations of solutions of melanin extracted from the skin, and the latter effect is apparent microscopically in the degeneration of melanophores1.
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References
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DAWES, B. Pigmentary Changes and the Background Response in Amphibia. Nature 147, 806–807 (1941). https://doi.org/10.1038/147806b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/147806b0
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