The spots (rosettes) of a leopard and the stripes of a tiger are classic examples of disruptive colouration. This is a form of camouflage that uses high-contrast patterns to break up the outline of an animal's body. By visually "shattering" the animal's silhouette, these patterns make it difficult for prey to recognize the characteristic shape of a predator against a complex background of tall grass or dappled forest shadows.
Cryptic colouration: While disruptive colouration is technically a type of crypsis (camouflage), "disruptive colouration" is the more specific and scientifically accurate term for patterns like spots and stripes that break up a silhouette.
Warning colouration involves bright, conspicuous colours (like those of a poison dart frog or monarch butterfly) used to signal to predators that the animal is toxic or dangerous. Leopards and tigers use their patterns to hide, not to be seen.
Counter shading refers to a colour pattern where an animal is darker on top and lighter on the bottom (like a shark or a penguin) to counteract the effects of overhead light and self-shadowing. While leopards do have lighter underbellies, their defining spots and stripes are not examples of this specific mechanism.
There is an explanation video available below.
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