Puzzle-patterns on felid undersides

The leopard (Panthera pardus) and the jaguar (Panthera onca) have camouflage colouration, and this includes their chests when they sit up: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-leopard-panthera-pardus-using-termite-mound-as-vantage-point-masai-32263955.html and https://adwimages.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Male-Jaguar_04.jpg.

By contrast, the chest of the closely-related snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is so pale and spotless that it seems to qualify as a pectoral flag: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-snow-leopard-panthera-uncia-adult-sitting-on-rock-captive-switzerland-78427404.html and https://www.alamy.com/close-up-of-snow-leopard-uncia-uncia-sitting-in-field-image281927193.html and https://www.123rf.com/photo_11673800_adult-snow-leopard-sitting-on-the-rock-looking-away.html and https://www.meowingtons.com/blogs/lolcats/photos-of-snow-leopards-biting-their-own-tails-are-everything.

Does this really make the figure conspicuous, or is it part of the camouflage against a mosaic of snow-patches among the rocks?

In the case of the tiger (Panthera tigris) there is a white, stripeless surface on the brisket, but on the sitting figure this is too low to catch the light: https://www.alamy.com/male-tiger-sitting-up-looking-intently-forwards-into-the-distance-image69669876.html and https://www.canstockphoto.com/close-up-tiger-52793325.html.

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is more similar to the tiger than to the snow leopard: https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-female-cheetah-81726699.html. However, the long forelegs of the cheetah give it such an upright pose, while sitting, that the white, spotless brisket can look conspicuous in certain illuminations: https://www.alamy.com/cheetah-acinonyx-jubatus-image7758377.html. To the degree that the cheetah qualifies for a pectoral flag, this may serve in mimicry of the lion (Panthera leo), as I will illustrate in a forthcoming Post.

In the cases of leopard, jaguar and tiger, a different puzzle arises: the spotting or striping on the belly are so graphic that this seems incongruous with the countershading of the ground-colour in the same animals. Please see the photos below.

Here, my explanation would be that leopard and jaguar often hide in trees, the bold blotching on their bellies actually camouflaging them when viewed from below (e.g. see https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9644461). But this leaves the tiger still a puzzle because this species seldom hides in trees.

Tiger: https://focusedcollection.com/465227104/stock-photo-tigers-captivity-panthera-tigris-corbetti.html and http://www.travelteamimages.com/big301600.html and https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-tiger-lying-back-danger-image54978009 and https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-tiger-lying-back-sweltering-hot-near-pool-image78296044 and https://www.dreamstime.com/high-angle-shot-white-tiger-lying-its-back-image192732848 and https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-photo-tiger-lying-her-back-berlin-zoo-germany-photo-made-image-you-see-partially-hidden-long-rock-mass-bed-image61100820

Leopard: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/leopard-lying-on-its-back-gm89140038-2948132 and https://www.dreamstime.com/leopard-lying-its-back-grasslands-maasai-mara-kenya-leopard-its-back-image109364103 and https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/leopard-lying-on-his-back-sand-635997944 and https://imgur.com/gallery/U5DvgfV

Jaguar: https://i.redd.it/ph51eh8f60q41.jpg and https://www.agefotostock.com/age/en/details-photo/jaguar-lying-on-the-back-on-sand-bank-close-to-water-pantanal-brazil/N99-1977185/1

Cheetah: https://www.needpix.com/photo/1317451/cheetah-big-cat-wildanimal-wildlife-upsidedown-lying-back-tummy and https://www.dmuth.org/cheopard/a-typical-cheetah-lying-on-back/ and https://www.dreamstime.com/cheetah-lying-its-back-dry-grass-breeding-center-outside-johannesburg-south-africa-cheetah-lying-its-back-image142999287 and https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cheetah-lying-on-back-south-african-427923721 and https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/a-picture-of-a-cheetah-lying-on-its-back-gm1143330626-307011984

Snow leopard: https://mltshp-cdn.com/r/1FAXX and https://www.alamy.com/snow-leopard-lying-on-its-back-image67311174.html and https://external-preview.redd.it/_-2UN1Vv94ulE-tEgJdBDZY9Mdltd7tcPJEe71Cm-ps.jpg?auto=webp&s=3c265930909e37de7e80c9d792b22671639f4684 and http://www.storytrender.com/93504/jazz-hands-stunning-snow-leopards-jump-caught-on-camera/

הועלה ב-יולי 28, 2021 01:56 לפנה"צ על ידי milewski