Natural History Wanderings

The BBC reports on recent research on how chipmunks get their stripes

Now, scientists have found the evolutionary gene change responsible for the distinctive markings of both the chipmunk and an African mouse.

The gene normally makes the bellies of many rodents light in colour.

The stripes may have helped the animals hide from daytime predators with keen eye sight, such as birds, they say.

Read full story at DNA clues to how chipmunk earned its stripes – BBC News