Turing patterns and stingray skin

Alan Turing is well known for his founding contributions to theoretical computer science, artificial intelligence and for cracking intercepted code messages that allowed the allies to defeat the Nazis. However, he was also an intellectual giant in the field of theoretical biology. 

Turing proposed ideas to explain how colour patterns might form on the skins of animals as a consequence of simple reaction diffusion equations of interacting components.  His work was ignored for over 60 years. New empirical work is showing that Turing was right in many cases.  It would appear that many of the colour patterns we see in stingrays are consistent with Turing pattern processes. 

 

Elasmobranchs exhibit a diversity of skin colourations and patterns. Here are some examples, as illustrated by Chondrichthyan Tree of Life Project's biological illustrator, Lindsay Gutteridge.

 

Can you find more examples of more possible Turing patterns on our website?