Mimesis (biology)

The walking leaf insects (Phylliidae) from the Indo-Pacific region resemble tree leaves in appearance and posture.

In biology, mimesis (from ancient Greek μίμησις mímēsis, "imitation")^[1] is a form of crypsis where living creatures mimic the form, colour and posture of their surroundings to avoid being noticed from their surroundings by predators depending on sight.^[2] One view is that mimesis, being a form of crypsis, differs from mimicry, but in English, mimesis is often counted as one of several forms of mimicry.^[3]

^ Pape, Wilhelm; Sengebusch, Max (ed.): Handwörterbuch der griechischen Sprache, volume 3, edition 6. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig 1914.
^ Remane, Adolf; Storch, Volker; Welsch, Ulrich: Kurzes Lehrbuch der Zoologie, volume 6, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-437-20436-X, p. 352.
^ Schaefer, Matthias: Wörterbuch der Ökologie, volume 4, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin 2005. ISBN 3-8274-0167-4.

[1] Pape, Wilhelm; Sengebusch, Max (ed.): Handwörterbuch der griechischen Sprache, volume 3, edition 6. Vieweg & Sohn, Braunschweig 1914.

[2] Remane, Adolf; Storch, Volker; Welsch, Ulrich: Kurzes Lehrbuch der Zoologie, volume 6, Gustav Fischer Verlag, Stuttgart 1989, ISBN 3-437-20436-X, p. 352.

[schaefer-3] Schaefer, Matthias: Wörterbuch der Ökologie, volume 4, Spektrum Akademischer Verlag, Heidelberg, Berlin 2005. ISBN 3-8274-0167-4.

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