We find many animals with unique, wonderful natural patterns that make them look beautiful. The different animal patterns are because of the hair on their skin. If the animal had no hair on its skin, then there would be no patterns.
Patterns are not only to look beautiful for animals. They also serve a purpose. These are vital to specific species in addition to their aesthetic value. While some use this nature’s gift for hunting, others use this to avoid capture. Colored stripes are also used to attract a mate.
There are countless animals with patterns on our planet. So, today we are listing the animals with the most recognizable and interesting patterns.
Read: 13 Amazing Animals With Manes
Contents
17 Phenomenal Animals With Patterns
1. Clownfish
If you try to think about fish with patterns, you will surely end at Clownfish. This fish is a popular character in an animated film.
They look amazing with an orange body and distinctive vertical black and white stripes. White stripes are dominant, whereas black is thin. Their unique pattern makes them one of the world’s most beautiful and attractive fish.
2. Ladybug
Ladybug is one of the most beautiful insects in the insect world, and there are 5,000 different species known to us.
They all have distinctive designs and various colors. A ladybug is a red body with seven black spots. One primary function of this kind of brightly colored body is to warn potential predators, also known as aposematic coloration. This helps them live up to three years, which is incredible for an insect.
3. Butterfly
Another famous animal with beautiful patterns is the butterfly. The mesmerizing beauty of this insect lies in the colorful designs on its wings.
There are 17,500 different species of butterflies found worldwide. Some are simple butterflies, some small, and some giant located in the rainforest, and the most interesting is that each of their patterns is different and unique. But they all have something in common. Their patterns are lovely, and the reason for having a pattern is also common: protection from predators.
4. Cheetah
The Cheetah is another spotted large cat with a unique pattern. It is the fastest cat on Earth and can live up to 12 years in the wild. There are 5 recognized subspecies of the Cheetah, which live in Asia, although most live in the savannas and grasslands of Africa.
The Cheetah’s magnificent fur is full of deep black spots, and there are more than 2,000 of them. Their spots also help them jump in their surroundings and chase down prey. Interestingly, despite being the swiftest land mammals, cheetahs hold off until the right moment to charge after a target.
5. Zebra
These creatures are renowned for their striking patterns. Though they look like horses, they have a distinctive black-and-white pattern that makes them unique.
Astonishingly no two zebras have the same pattern similar to human fingerprints. Instead, each zebra has a different pattern, and no two prints are alike. However, stripes have a purpose; they repel insects and leeches.
6. Giraffe
African giraffe is another animal with a distinctive pattern. Interesting spots on their coats have made each giraffe unique.
Similar to zebras, no two giraffes have the same pattern. However, recent research suggests that a giraffe’s pattern for a calf can be used to track down its mother related to the survival of the calf for the first two months. The purpose of specimens, as found in many predatory animals, is to protect them from predators by leaping into their habitat.
7. Tiger
This large carnivorous mammal, also a distant cousin of the domestic cat, is one of the most fascinating specimens with patterns. For decades, fashion and interior designers have used the distinctive tiger pattern in their designs worldwide.
There are many tiger species; most are orange, but some are white. However, their distinctive pattern is white stripes on brown regardless of the tiger species. Surprisingly, tigers are the only cats having this pattern on their skin. Adapting the stripe pattern allows the tiger to blend in with the environment. Unlike lions, tigers are lonely, stealthy animals and prefer to hunt using camouflage.
8. Dalmatian
Dogs are man’s best friend, and many patterns are unique. But if you talk about the most famous, we must also mention the Dalmatian breed because it was featured in a viral cartoon.
The body of the dalmatian is white, and adult dogs have different black or brown-sized markings on their white coats. Dalmatians with black spots are the most popular, but some have orange and yellow spots. No two Dalmatians are alike, like many other animals with patterns. They all have different locations and also sizes with locations.
The most intriguing fact is that newborn puppies do not have spots. They are entirely white and become mottled after 10 days. The new locations are more dynamic, but there are few of them. As they mature, new spots begin to appear.
9. Snake
Snakes are among the most feared animals and some of the most dangerous animals worldwide. There are 3,900 and more species of snakes worldwide.
Snakes are the absolute king of patterns, with striking and attractive patterns on their body. Some snakes with unique patterns are feathered tree vipers, boa constrictors, Somali boeleni, green tree pythons, emerald tree boas, Brazilian rainbow boas and milk snakes.
Read: 13 Most Vengeful Animals
10. Peacock
Birds are the most beautiful creatures with different patterns and colors. One bird known for its mesmerizing tail full of vibrant colors and patterns is the peacock.
A male peacock is known for its magical tail and distinctive pattern flaunting a piece of art. The males show off the pattern on the tail to attract the females.
11. Sea turtle
Another aquatic animal with spectacular patterns found in almost every ocean is the sea turtle. A horny or chitinous plate known as scutes makes up part of the exoskeleton in turtles made of keratin meant to protect the animal’s vital organs.
Each sea turtle has a different number and form of scutes, along with distinct colorations and patterns. Overall, 13 scutes are found in the majority of sea turtles. The pattern is arranged uniquely.
However, it is regrettable that due to their beautiful patterns, the demand for scutes used for jewelry, bow parts, and eyeglass frames has also become the cause of the extinction of some sea turtle species.
12. Okapi
Okapis, also known as zebra giraffes, are herbivorous mammals in central Africa. The giraffes and okapis are the only surviving members of the Giraffidae family.
Their black and white markings resemble zebras but are closely related to giraffes. The white horizontal stripes on their legs and back allow them to blend into their habitat’s dense forest background and enable these animals to escape danger and survive in the wilderness.
13. Jaguar
These beautiful big cats are native to the rainforests of North, Central and South America and have beautiful patterns all over their body.
At first glance, a jaguar is often confused with a cheetah. The jaguar’s coat is similar in color to cheetahs and tigers, but what is unique about their coat are the black spots on orange that make a very different pattern called a rosette. Over the decades, their coat patterns have often been used in fashion and interior design.
14. Blue Sea Dragon
A blue sea dragon is a sea slug also known by names such as dragon slug, blue glaucus, blue dragon, blue sea slug, blue ocean slug, sea swallow, and blue angel.
They have a colorful pattern on the body with thin appendages. It is a sea slug with a dominant silvery grey color on the dorsal surface and dark blue along with light blue on the ventral surface. The dark blue and grey color on its six appendages makes them look alien and frightening.
The exquisite shape of this sea slug accounts for its intriguing name. Interestingly, these slugs float on the water surface through the surface tension due to their long, thin, colorful appendages.
15. Angelfish
The most common tropical pet fish you have seen in a local aquarium store is the angelfish, a freshwater cichlid species. However, if you are searching for beautiful colorful fish, your search ends here.
They have beautiful patterns, stripes and spots on the body. There are 70 types of angelfish, all found in the Amazon River. Black Lace angelfish, albino angelfish, blushing angelfish, clown angelfish, and gold angelfish are among the most prevalent varieties of angelfish.
16. Greater Kudu
In our list of animals with patterns, these large-eared animals live throughout eastern and southern Africa.
Their general coat color is brown to reddish brown. In addition, they have between 4 and 12 white stripes on their backs. These markings on their torsos protect them by allowing this animal to blend in with their background. As a result, when they sense danger, they stay quiet and are extremely difficult to spot.
Read: 17 Types of Herbivorous Birds Across The World
17. Gecko
Lizards are fascinating creatures, and many of them have unique patterns on their body. Geckos are small lizards that live in warm climates worldwide, in rainforests, jungles, mountains and even deserts.
There are 1,000 species of geckos in the world. Some of the geckos with the most interesting patterns are the leopard gecko, toke gecko, rough knob-tailed gecko, and giant day gecko.
These have unique patterns among lizards.
To conclude…
Hope you get to know something new about these animals with patterns. Using colors and patterns to avoid detection by blending into the background is known as Crypsis. However, it works as long as the animal is still, but the predator can see and catch its prey as soon as it moves.
Recently, “Motion Dazzle,” where high-contrast patterns, such as stripes and zigzags, may distort the predator’s perception of where the animal is going during motion, has been explored. We will talk about this in some other articles.
