| along those lines it is interesting to picture how chromatophores set up in skin. In the shallow skin of youth, the red pigment cells lay flat and cover large areas. We see them as shallow disks on islands of beni within the 'future' hi plate.
But as the skin become bellowy and deep, we see three dimensional units of xanthophores and erythrophores forming- the best being yellow/orange because this is a pure color ( free of black pigment) and will give way to more red as the diet and time shift the percentage of cells in favor of the erythrophores and slowly away from xanthophores. This turns out to be 'perfect aging'.
In some individuals there can be a layer of iridophores that reflect light and create a luster to the color mass. The entire effect is a three dimensional pattern that floats on translucent skin- this is the apex of nishikigoi evolution. JR |