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It's hard being green

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Jim

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Nov 20, 2009, 8:39:24 PM11/20/09
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Here is a curious thing: there are no green mammals, as far as I
know. There are green birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, but
no green mammals. How come is that? Anybody know?

Reddfrogg

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Nov 20, 2009, 8:53:48 PM11/20/09
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Some tree sloths appear green, due to the algae that clings to their
fur.

http://www.arkive.org/maned-three-toed-sloth/bradypus-torquatus/info.html

"The cream and tan coloured coat is usually tinged green from the blue-
green algae that live in grooves in the hair, providing great
camouflage for the sloth in the trees"

I've also heard that some polar bears that live in zoos take on a
green tinge from algae in their enclosures.

Most mammilian pigments tend to be variations on black, yellow and
brown. Some mammals have blue pigments, such as Mandrills, but I
don't know why green is not on the pallet.

DJT

IAAH

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Nov 20, 2009, 8:53:41 PM11/20/09
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Damn you. This may keep me up of nights.

But here:
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1169/is_n5_v33/ai_17338585/
is a possible explanation.

--
"I do not pretend to be able to prove that there
is no God. I equally cannot
prove that Satan is a fiction. The Christian god
may exist; so may the gods of
Olympus, or of ancient Egypt, or of Babylon. But
no one of these hypotheses is
more probable than any other: they lie outside the
region of even probable
knowledge, and therefore there is no reason to
consider any of them."
Bertrand Russell

Caranx latus

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Nov 20, 2009, 9:03:52 PM11/20/09
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<http://deoxy.org/gaia/eyefood/sloth.jpg>

OK, OK. I know. It's green, not because its fur is green, but because it
grows a crop of algae. No idea why fur does not seem to come in green.

Sean_Q_

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Nov 21, 2009, 3:07:02 AM11/21/09
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Jim wrote:
> Here is a curious thing: there are no green mammals, as far as I
> know. There are green birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, but
> no green mammals.

Barbar the Elephant's king turned green when he ate a bad mushroom.

I don't suppose that counts, does it. But I've had a vivid memory
of the picture since I was a toddler.

SQ

Christopher Denney

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Nov 21, 2009, 3:14:54 AM11/21/09
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I recall a comedic routine about the lack of blue food too.
Maybe there is a conspiracy to exclude certain colors from
participating in our lives, as mammals, fully.
:)

Devils Advocaat

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Nov 21, 2009, 5:24:53 AM11/21/09
to talk-o...@moderators.isc.org

This may shed some light (or fur) on the subject:

http://www.askabiologist.org.uk/punbb/viewtopic.php?id=684

Sapient Fridge

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Nov 21, 2009, 4:34:43 AM11/21/09
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In message
<91f9db62-937b-49be...@k4g2000yqb.googlegroups.com>,
Reddfrogg <redd...@bresnan.net> writes

>On Nov 20, 6:39�pm, Jim <jimwille...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Here is a curious thing: �there are no green mammals, as far as I
>> know. � �There are green birds, reptiles, �amphibians, and fish, but
>> no green mammals. �How come is that? �Anybody know?
>
>
>Some tree sloths appear green, due to the algae that clings to their
>fur.
>
>http://www.arkive.org/maned-three-toed-sloth/bradypus-torquatus/info.html
>
>"The cream and tan coloured coat is usually tinged green from the blue-
>green algae that live in grooves in the hair, providing great
>camouflage for the sloth in the trees"
>
>I've also heard that some polar bears that live in zoos take on a
>green tinge from algae in their enclosures.

Yep, the algae grows in the hollow fibres of their hair. Probably not a
problem in their native environment.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2004-02/26/content_309625.htm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26591321/
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Susan S

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Nov 21, 2009, 12:20:27 PM11/21/09
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In talk.origins I read this message from Christopher Denney
<christoph...@gmail.com>:

But there is blue food, some non-hybrid varieties of potatoes and corn.
There may be others. I'm guessing he did not know about them.

Susan Silberstein

Mark Evans

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Nov 21, 2009, 12:26:20 PM11/21/09
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On Nov 21, 12:20 pm, Susan S <otoeremovet...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> In talk.origins  I read this message from Christopher Denney
> <christopher.den...@gmail.com>:

>
> >On Nov 20, 5:39 pm, Jim <jimwille...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Here is a curious thing:  there are no green mammals, as far as I
> >> know.    There are green birds, reptiles,  amphibians, and fish, but
> >> no green mammals.  How come is that?  Anybody know?
>
> >I recall a comedic routine about the lack of blue food too.
> >Maybe there is a conspiracy to exclude certain colors from
> >participating in our lives, as mammals, fully.
> >:)
>
> But there is blue food, some non-hybrid varieties of potatoes and corn.
> There may be others.  I'm guessing he did not know about them.
>
> Susan Silberstein

Blueberries. Blue birds? I had a ham once that turned blue, and
green with a bit of yellow.

Mark Evans

Ernest Major

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Nov 21, 2009, 12:50:34 PM11/21/09
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In message
<41714107-2b6d-43c8...@p33g2000vbn.googlegroups.com>,
Mark Evans <markev...@gmail.com> writes

There a few berries that are blue if you stretch a point. Apart from
blueberries there several other edible Vacciniums, and honeyberry
(Lonicera caerulea var edulis), and even perhaps sloe.

--
alias Ernset Major

heekster

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Nov 21, 2009, 1:51:32 PM11/21/09
to
On Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:39:24 -0800 (PST), Jim <jimwi...@gmail.com>
wrote:

>Here is a curious thing: there are no green mammals, as far as I
>know. There are green birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, but
>no green mammals. How come is that? Anybody know?

Some mammals have green eyes, (humans, cats).

Woland

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Nov 21, 2009, 5:51:34 PM11/21/09
to
On Nov 20, 8:53 pm, Reddfrogg <reddfr...@bresnan.net> wrote:
> On Nov 20, 6:39 pm, Jim <jimwille...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Here is a curious thing:  there are no green mammals, as far as I
> > know.    There are green birds, reptiles,  amphibians, and fish, but
> > no green mammals.  How come is that?  Anybody know?
>
> Some tree sloths appear green, due to the algae that clings to their
> fur.
>
> http://www.arkive.org/maned-three-toed-sloth/bradypus-torquatus/info....

>
> "The cream and tan coloured coat is usually tinged green from the blue-
> green algae that live in grooves in the hair, providing great
> camouflage for the sloth in the trees"
>
> I've also heard that some polar bears that live in zoos take on a
> green tinge from algae in their enclosures.
>
> Most mammilian pigments tend to be variations on black, yellow and
> brown.  Some mammals have blue pigments, such as Mandrills, but I
> don't know why green is not on the pallet.
>
> DJT

Polar bears can appear green as well. Or purple.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/2353112/detail.html

rmacfarl

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Nov 21, 2009, 6:13:24 PM11/21/09
to

"Woland" <jerr...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:7b140862-06c1-4a72...@s15g2000yqs.googlegroups.com...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Monkey

Cory Albrecht

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Nov 21, 2009, 10:11:39 PM11/21/09
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Susan S wrote, on 09-11-21 12:20 PM:

No, they are actually deep purple, not blue, regardless of what people say.

http://stevelummer.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/teosinte_hopi_blue.jpg

http://ebbessonfarms.com/images/potato_all_blue.jpg

Stuart

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Nov 21, 2009, 10:42:40 PM11/21/09
to
On Nov 21, 7:20 am, Susan S <otoeremovet...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
> In talk.origins I read this message from Christopher Denney
> <christopher.den...@gmail.com>:

>
> >On Nov 20, 5:39 pm, Jim <jimwille...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Here is a curious thing: there are no green mammals, as far as I
> >> know. There are green birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, but
> >> no green mammals. How come is that? Anybody know?
>
> >I recall a comedic routine about the lack of blue food too.
> >Maybe there is a conspiracy to exclude certain colors from
> >participating in our lives, as mammals, fully.
> >:)
>
> But there is blue food, some non-hybrid varieties of potatoes

Okinawan sweet potatoes. Nice and purple. You gotta boil them all day,
but nice and delicious

Stuart

Burkhard

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Nov 22, 2009, 3:35:35 AM11/22/09
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heekster

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Nov 22, 2009, 12:32:46 PM11/22/09
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Cory Albrecht

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Nov 22, 2009, 4:01:06 PM11/22/09
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Burkhard wrote, on 09-11-22 03:35 AM:

Looks rather more purple than blue to me.


Cory Albrecht

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Nov 22, 2009, 4:15:00 PM11/22/09
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heekster wrote, on 09-11-22 12:32 PM:

Rather obviously purple, I would think.

I asked on twitter, and the only really blue food other than blueberries
that anybody could come up with was concord grapes.

A quick image search on on Google shows that, like blueberries, they can
often be purplish, but they are a real blue often enough to count.

heekster

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Nov 22, 2009, 8:34:28 PM11/22/09
to

Duck. It is moving towards you, and is blue-shifted into violet.

heekster

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Nov 22, 2009, 8:52:48 PM11/22/09
to
On Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:15:00 -0500, Cory Albrecht
<coryal...@hotmail.com> wrote:

>heekster wrote, on 09-11-22 12:32 PM:
>> On Sat, 21 Nov 2009 09:20:27 -0800, Susan S
>> <otoerem...@ix.netcom.com> wrote:
>>
>>> In talk.origins I read this message from Christopher Denney
>>> <christoph...@gmail.com>:
>>>
>>>> On Nov 20, 5:39 pm, Jim<jimwille...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>>>> Here is a curious thing: there are no green mammals, as far as I
>>>>> know. There are green birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish, but
>>>>> no green mammals. How come is that? Anybody know?
>>>>
>>>> I recall a comedic routine about the lack of blue food too.
>>>> Maybe there is a conspiracy to exclude certain colors from
>>>> participating in our lives, as mammals, fully.
>>>> :)
>>>
>>> But there is blue food, some non-hybrid varieties of potatoes and corn.
>>> There may be others. I'm guessing he did not know about them.
>>>
>>
>> http://1001resepi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/eggplant.jpg
>>
>
>Rather obviously purple, I would think.
>

It is its own color, actually.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggplant_%28color%29

>I asked on twitter, and the only really blue food other than blueberries
>that anybody could come up with was concord grapes.
>
>A quick image search on on Google shows that, like blueberries, they can
>often be purplish, but they are a real blue often enough to count.

Bleu cheese has blue mold veins. I don't know if that counts.

Some lobsters are blue, spectacularly so.
http://www.lobsterinstitute.org/media/22.jpg
http://www.lobsterinstitute.org/media/23.jpg

Mark Isaak

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Nov 23, 2009, 6:43:57 PM11/23/09
to

Mussels, too, at least on the outside.

--
Mark Isaak eciton (at) earthlink (dot) net
"It is certain, from experience, that the smallest grain of natural
honesty and benevolence has more effect on men's conduct, than the most
pompous views suggested by theological theories and systems." - D. Hume

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