CW: Cannibalism, Snakes, Spiders, Various Venomous Animals and What Happens When They Use Their Venom
Listener Billy hit us with an excellent question: would redheads’ bright coloration indicate potentially poisonous meat? We take you on a journey through pigmentation in nature outside of humans, poison, and people-eating to answer this one. How did animals get more brilliant colorations? How did humans get the color palette we have now? That’s where we’ll take you in part one. Billy’s question was so wild that we needed two parts to answer. Hope you like this very serious and somewhat rambling look at your question!
Just a few simple resources for part one starting with how did coloration as a warning system evolve in the first place.
Because we talk a bit in this episode about red hair being genetically possible in anybody of any skin tone, I’m providing this link to talk about the origins of red hair in people of color.
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