mimicry

Term: mimicry

Origin: Anc Greek

μίμησις/mimisis(=imitation, figure)

>   μιμνήσκω/mimnisko(=remember )

Henry Walter Bates (1825 –1892)

Coined:

   In 1862 by English naturalist and explorer Henry Walter Bates (1825 –1892). Bates' work on Amazonian butterflies led him to develop the first scientific account of mimicry, especially the kind of mimicry which bears his name: Batesian mimicry

  

Definition

(evolutionary biology) . Mimicry is the phenomenon characterized by similarity of one species to another which offers protection to one or both of them. There are many kinds of mimicry as

a)     Batesian mimicry, in which an organism lacking defenses mimics a species that does have defenses.

b)    In Müllerian mimicry, all species in a group are similar even though all individually have defenses.

c)     In aggressive mimicry, a predatory species mimics a benign species so that it can approach its prey without alarming it.