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Batesian mimicry
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H.W. Bates
Related Topics:
mimicry
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Batesian mimicry

zoology
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History

Batesian mimicry, a form of biological resemblance in which a noxious, or dangerous, organism (the model), equipped with a warning system such as conspicuous coloration, is mimicked by a harmless organism (the mimic). The mimic gains protection because predators mistake it for the model and leave it alone. This form of mimicry is named for its discoverer, the 19th-century English naturalist H.W. Bates. Compare Müllerian mimicry.