
A map puffer fish's (Arothron mappa) eye appears like coral to casual observers in Indonesia's Tukangbesi Islands.

A close view of a cheetah's wet coat

A giraffe's spots form irregular patterns.

A moth's wings appear iridescent when photographed close-up in the Danum Valley Conservation Area in Sabah, Malaysia.

Bird feathers create a colorful show.

Black-and-white stripes ripple across the hide of a Grant's zebra.

Boa constrictors use their heat-sensitive scales to locate prey.

Elephant skin

Intricate rings and dots mark the coat of a jaguar (Panthera onca).

The sensory glands on the side of an Arctic char are used by the fish during its annual spawning migration.

A neglected eighty-eight butterfly (Diaethria neglecta) in Brazil’s Pantanal displays the design of lines and dots that gave it its unusual common name.