![]() ![]() These are known as eyespots and are conspicuous circular or quasi-circular markings ( Mukherjee and Kodandaramaiah, 2015). Many prey species possess markings that subjectively appear to resemble vertebrate eyes ( Janzen et al., 2010). They are also consistent with the idea that eyespots are mistaken for eyes, and are perceived to pose a lesser risk when their “gaze” is averted from the approaching predator. These findings suggest that eyespots composed of concentric circles may protect prey against predators approaching from a wider range of directions than eyespots composed of eccentric circles. Chicks that approached from either the left or the right, were slower to attack prey in which the central circle of the eyespot was centrally placed or shifted in the direction of the chick’s approach, compared to prey in which the central circle had been shifted away from the direction of approach. We found that when chicks approached prey straight on, eyespots configuration did not influence attack latency. Here we used naïve domestic chicks as predators of artificial moth-like prey to test the hypothesis that both eyespots configuration and predator approach direction affect the antipredator efficacy of eyespots. Predators are wary of such prey because eyespots are conspicuous and/or mistaken for vertebrate eyes. Many prey species possess eyespots: paired markings that often consist of two or more concentric circles. 3Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, Germany.2Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Washington Singer Laboratories, Exeter, United Kingdom.1Faculty of Medical Sciences, Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. ![]()
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