Temporal Change in Fur Color in Museum Specimens of Mammals: Reddish-Brown Species Get Redder with Storage Time

Figure 1

Photographs of the two species studied, golden mouse (a) and chipmunk (b), and method of measuring color from photographs. Specimens were photographed ((c) and (d)), and image analysis software was used to measure fur color in the selected areas ((e) and (f); see Section 2 for color measurement). The agouti, white, and black stripes of chipmunks (f) were measured separately. Rump color (green box in (d)) was also measured in chipmunks. Photo credits: Josh Campbell (a) and Richard Cameron (b).