Back to the fuchsia: the evolution of colour sensitivity

There has been a dramatic explosion in the use of colour vision during the last 100 million years. Its greatest users are fish, birds, butterflies, and reptiles. Furry mammals are less enthusiastic about colour — they prefer scent

University of Arizona researchers have been plotting the evolutionary timeline of colour vision: the greatest users of colour vision are fish, birds, butterflies, and reptiles

Nothing is in the intellect that was not first in the senses — John Locke

The souks of North Africa are colourful places. We Europeans, Michael Portillo apart, dress more soberly. Military camouflage supresses it, but colour is a powerful weapon. Its origin and nature, however, remain mysterious.