A relatively small number of pigment families — melanins, carotenoids, anthocyanins and chlorophylls chief among them — are responsible for most pigment-based colour across plants, fungi and animals, each with a distinct chemical basis and typical colour range.
A molecule in the tissue absorbs some wavelengths of light and reflects others — the reflected wavelengths are the colour seen. Chlorophyll, carotenoids and melanin are the most common examples.
Common misconception: Not every vivid natural colour is a pigment — several of the most striking blues and greens in animals are structural colour instead, which looks similar but works completely differently.
Melanins are among the most widespread biological pigments, producing colours from pale yellow through brown to black in skin, hair, feathers and fur across a very wide range of animal groups.
Animals · confidence: high
Carotenoids produce yellow, orange and red colouration and cannot be synthesised by most animals — species that display carotenoid colour, such as flamingos, generally obtain the pigment through diet.
Animals · confidence: high
Anthocyanins produce red, purple and blue colouration in plants, particularly in flowers, fruits and autumn leaves, and are water-soluble pigments stored in plant cell sap.
Plants · confidence: high
Chlorophylls are the pigments central to photosynthesis and are responsible for the green colour of most plant leaves, absorbing red and blue light while reflecting green.
Plants · confidence: high
Frequency and rarity claims above are scoped to a specific domain, geography or taxonomic group — none are presented as a single universal ranking. See methodology.