Constructing Models to Reproduce the Skin Color Patterns of Takifugu Species, Including Hybrids

Abstract

Identifying pufferfish species for human consumption is conducted by experts who hold a license to cook pufferfishes. Nevertheless, it is difficult to identify the parental species and the poisoned parts of interspecific hybrid pufferfishes. Therefore, putative hybrids are completely excluded from the distribution process. Developing a system to identify hybrid pufferfishes will decrease the erroneous identification of pufferfish species. In this study, to apply to such identification system, pufferfish skin patterns were replicated using a cellular automata （CA）model. Here the CA model was based on Turing patterns through the exchange of binary values between neighboring cells. Despite the simplicity of the model, which uses five parameters （three parameters related to basic color pattern and two parameters for creating a large black spot）to produce skin patterns, it can produce characteristic skin patterns of all edible species of Takifugu.