These bold patterns are far more than just beautiful—they’re a vital survival tool that helps zebras navigate the challenges ...

Top: A male ornate boxfish (aracana ornata). Bottom left: a close-up of the boxfish’s natural hexagonal pattern. Bottom center: fish pattern simulation based on Turing’s reaction-diffusion theory.

Scientists may have finally solved the mystery of how some animals get their stripes and spots. There are many animals that have these patterns on their skin or fur—including tigers, zebras and ...

The animals can possess different patterns, from a small patch of white on their heads to bold white stripes that merge into a cape-like pattern. There can even be all-white or all-black animals ...

Turing patterns offer insight into (among other things) the patterns we find on animals, whether it’s the splotches on giraffes, the dot-and-line motifs on whale sharks, or the stripes on tigers.

There are certain natural patterns that do not follow neat geometrical rules of repeating shapes but they are distinctive nonetheless. We can recognize the stripes on a tiger or a zebra or the ...