Kingdon on Colouration: Crested Rats, Guenons and Zebras

Jonathan Kingdon is recognised for his profound knowledge of natural history and his meticulous and superb drawings of African mammals. These two strengths come together in the study of mammalian colouration where his colour paintings and his black and white drawings depict the patterning of coat colours exceptionally well. Sometimes the underlying morphology and the way that animals show off their pelage patterns are shown too. While artwork is central to Kingdon’s career, resulting in the field guides for which he is so renowned, he has also offered multiple hypotheses regarding the evolutionary history and selective forces underlying colouration in mammals. Some of these hypotheses have been tested and confirmed, others have directed research in new directions, as I show below. Kingdon has long been a champion of functional ideas about mammalian colouration. One of his most memorable findings concerns the crested or maned rat Lophiomys imhausi MilneEdwards 1867 (figure 1). This species has woolly grey fur, bold black and white markings on the face, and black and white lateral stripes. When alarmed, fur on the flank is flared to reveal a tract of specialized hairs that the animal presents to its attacker. Crested