Even when you’re not feeling well a gal can only watch so many fashion, cooking and decorating shows so I went on channel patrol and landed on a show about Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. I know you’re probably thinking, “Geez if you were already bored there’s a sure fire way to send you straight to napsville.”
And you’d be right. I might not have given it more than a 3 second glance if I hadn’t landed on the program just when they were showing a mesmerizing picture of the many species of Cichlids that had evolved in one lake and were explaining how it helped proved Darwin’s theory. Really interesting stuff even if you’re not a science fanatic.
In three of Africa’s great lakes–Malawi (Nyasa), Tanganyika, and Victoria–more species of fish exist than in any other lakes in the world. The exact number of species in each lake is unknown, but estimates suggest that Lake Malawi has more than 1,000 species, and numerous new species are being continually discovered in all the lakes. (source)
What I love about the colors of fish is not only the unusual combinations of color but also the translucent complexity of each individual color. The pair of fish above at first glance look like they have black spots but looking closely they are really a very deep shade of olive green. Together with the aqua and citrine it makes for a smashing color scheme.
The same is true for this striped variety. What looks like black is very deep shade of violet. Together with lavender and muted orange another winning scheme that might not immediately come to mind.
A complementary scheme that is spot on.
And even a shimmering monochromatic scheme of blue is intriguing.
Are you hooked on these Cichlid inspired combinations? You can find these images plus many more Cichlid colors here
Thanks Michele. I'm sure he would be amazed at how beautifully his theory played out for the Cichlids.
Darwin would love this beautiful blog!