From: Indy Kochte <kochte@s...>
Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2000 15:20:29 -0400
Subject: blue!
Beth!!! Hiya! G'day! How are things down under? Got a quick question for you: what kind of enviroment might there be required for a species to evolve with blue pigment for their skin/hides? I'm trying to think 'aliens' here ;-) and suddenly got inspired by the music video by Eiffel65 for their song "Blue". Mk
From: Indy Kochte <kochte@s...>
Date: Fri, 09 Jun 2000 15:36:19 -0400
Subject: Re: blue!
> Indy wrote: Urrrrmmm......oops! This was supposed to go directly to Beth, NOT the entire list. GAH! Sorry; I *know* I'm getting tired, but man.... M 'sleep, data, sleep...' k
From: Jon Davis <davisje@n...>
Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2000 15:37:26 -0400
Subject: RE: blue!
> Indy wrote: Urrrrmmm......oops! This was supposed to go directly to Beth, NOT the entire list. GAH! Sorry; I *know* I'm getting tired, but man.... M 'sleep, data, sleep...' k Nah! Time for a trip up north to the Adirondacks. All that sea level air is doing you in.
From: Gregory Wong <sax@s...>
Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2000 14:20:39 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: blue!
Make your aliens hang around a guy in a green rugby shirt named Steve. That will make their skin turn blue. At least it works for dogs.:) --Greg
From: KH.Ranitzsch@t... (K.H.Ranitzsch)
Date: 13 Jun 2000 08:18 GMT
Subject: Re: blue!
> Indy wrote: Guess Beth already answered that one, but here are my ideas on that one: 1) An environment with blue plants. Blue skin would be a camouflage there. Blue plants could arguably evolve to more efficiently absorb light from a sun whose light emission's peak is in the yellow part of the spektrum. 2) The alien males evolved the blue skin to impress their ladies (or vice versa). You can justify all kinds of outrageous designs with sexual selection. 3) The blue skin pigment is there to help produce some kind of 'vitamin' the aliens can't get otherwise. 4) Underwater, light blue is a not unreasonable camouflage. 5) In an desert environment without plants and 'blue' minerals on the surface, e.g.Cobalt ores. 6) The aliens are poisonous or otherwise very dangerous and bright blue is a warning signal colour in their world. 7) There are some posonous or otherwise dangerous beasts on the planet and the aliens have copied this colour to scare off predators, even if they themselves are quite harmless. Greetings Karl Heinz
From: Beth Fulton <beth.fulton@m...>
Date: Wed, 14 Jun 2000 10:24:45 +1000
Subject: Re: blue!
G'day Karl, > Guess Beth already answered that one, but here are my ideas on that I did and said essentially what you've said here, with just a few minor changes... > 3) The blue skin pigment is there to help produce some kind of More likely a symbiont, like the zooxanthellae in corals. And you forgot... 8) That's the colour of their blood... insects have blood types that are green, blue and clear as they're based on other compounds and chemicals to ours. Part from that spot on!;) Cheers Beth