data for clour measuring.xls

Ontogenetic color change in animals is an interesting evolution-related topic that has been studied by evolutionary biologist for decades. However, performing quantitative and continuous color measurements throughout a full life cycle of lizards serves as the main challenge. We used the spectrometer approach to measure the tail color of Blue-tailed Skink (Plestiodon elegans) from birth to sexual maturity. The spectrometer approach is simple, fast, and accurate, depending on the visual sense of the animal, for measuring the tail color of skink. A strong relationship was found between color indexes (values of L*, a*, b*) and growth time of skink. Moreover, color rhythms were found to differ between sexes, which may be influenced by the unique behavior strategies between sexes. Overall, in this study, continuous measurement of tail color change from larva to adults was performed to elucidate the mechanism for ontogenetic color change in reptiles and explain the potential factors that drive dichromatism between the sexes of lizards.