There are no naturally occurring purple animals in the wild. Purple is a rare color in nature and no animal has evolved to be entirely purple. However, there are some animals that can display hints of purple on parts of their bodies due to pigmentation, iridescence, or diet. While intriguing, these animals are not truly purple overall. This article will examine if any animal is genuinely purple and look at examples of creatures that seem to have purple tones.
Purple Pigmentation
Some animals can appear to have purple skin or shells due to pigments they produce. However, these pigments mix with yellows, reds, blues and other colors to create dark shades that only look purple under certain light conditions. True purple pigment is extremely rare in the animal kingdom. Here are some examples of animals with hints of purple:
– Some starfish and sea urchins have purple tints to their bodies. This comes from pigments like spinochrome and blachin that reflect violet and blue light. Overall though, they are not purely purple.
– There are sea slugs like the purple aeolis or Schwartz’s aeolis with deep purple and pink tones. But they are not uniformly purple all over.
– Some squids and octopuses can rapidly change color thanks to specialized skin cells. When flashing violet, red, and gold they can briefly appear purple. But this is temporary camouflage, not a permanent color.
– Some lizards like anoles and chameleons use pale purples to aid camouflage or temperature regulation. But they are not fully or continuously purple.
Structural Coloration
Rather than pigments, some animals get purple tones through structural colors produced by their skin or shell structures. While stunning, these iridescent purples depend on the angle of light and viewing.
– Peacocks can display gorgeous purple and teal tones in parts of their tail feathers. But this is only temporary iridescence.
– Similarly, mallard ducks briefly show vibrant purple on parts of their wing feathers. Again, this depends on light interaction, not constant pigment.
– Shells of abalone, conch, nautilus and some snails and bivalves can gleam with shimmering purple. But this is fleeting structural color, not true purple.
Dietary Effects
An animal’s diet can sometimes lead to temporary purple discoloration on their skin, shells, or feathers. This is from pigments in their food, not natural purple coloration.
– Flamingos get pink and purple hues from carotenoids in the algae and crustaceans they eat. Without this diet, they would be white.
– Purple sea urchins obtained their color after the invasive arrival of an algae species they eat. Before this food source, they were typically green or brown.
– Some parrot species show purple feathers if fed diets rich in anthocyanin pigments. In the wild, their colors are typically green, red, blue, and yellow.
So while diet can create purple tones, it is not an innate or constant color for these species.
No Uniformly Purple Animals
As we have seen, there are no known animals that are fully or permanently purple across their entire bodies. While some creatures can display beautiful hints of violet and purple, this occurs only briefly or on certain parts of their bodies. The purple is produced by pigments, structural colors, or diet – not as an intrinsic, uniform color. Some examples:
| Animal | Purple Coloration Cause |
|---|---|
| Sea slugs | Pigments in parts of body |
| Peacocks | Temporary iridescence in feathers |
| Flamingos | Dietary pigments |
There are evolutionary reasons why true purple animals are so rare:
– Purple pigments are very complex for organisms to produce through metabolism.
– Purple offers no major adaptive advantage for survival compared to other colors. Mimicry, camouflage, mate attraction etc can all be achieved without purple.
– Purple coloration is easily lost through genetic mutations that disrupt pigment production. Without an advantage to balance this, purple gradually disappears from populations.
Purples and Violets in Nature
While no animals are wholly purple, some stunning purples and violets can be produced in nature through other means:
– Many flowers like orchids, lilacs, hydrangea and morning glories have vivid purple pigments to attract pollinators.
– Some minerals like amethyst, tourmaline, fluorite and quartz can form gorgeous purple crystals.
– Dinoflagellates bioluminesce in greens and purples, creating spectacular nighttime displays in waves.
– Some fruits like grapes, plums, figs, raisins and berries contain purple plant pigments.
So the violet end of the spectrum does occasionally appear in vivid intensities in nature. But this photogenic phenomenon is confined to plants, fungi, minerals, microbes and food. In complex animals, purple remains elusive.
Conclusion
No known animal has evolved to be wholly and permanently purple across their entire body. While some creatures can display stunning hints of purple due to pigments, structural colors or diet, no species is intrinsically or uniformly purple. Given its rarity in nature, true animal purple may unfortunately be confined to fiction like dragon scales, dinosaur hides and alien fur. But some real world examples come tantalizingly close, giving fleeting glimpses of violet in the animal kingdom. Perhaps someday a newly discovered sea slug, parrot or chameleon will reveal nature’s true purple potential. For now, purple animals remain the stuff of myths and imagination.
