Which statement about Müllerian mimicry is correct?

• A. Two or more harmless species share similar warning patterns to reinforce predator avoidance.
• B. Two or more harmful species share similar warning patterns to reinforce predator avoidance; not typical for mammals.
• C. A single species mimics a harmful signal to deter predators.
• D. It relies solely on camouflage without warning signals.

Answer: (B)

Müllerian mimicry is when two or more harmful species share the same warning signal so predators learn to avoid that pattern faster, and the avoidance benefits all the species involved. Because every participant is genuinely dangerous or unpalatable, the familiar signal becomes even more reliable for predators, spreading the cost of defense across multiple species. While many well-known examples come from insects and other non-mammal groups, the idea is that multiple dangerous species converge on a common warning pattern to reinforce avoidance.

That’s why this statement fits Müllerian mimicry: multiple harmful species use a shared warning pattern to deter predators. It’s also why the other descriptions don’t fit as well. If harmless species shared warning signals, that would be a deceptive or Batesian scenario, not Müllerian. If a single species alone mimicked a harmful signal, it wouldn’t involve a shared pattern among several harmful species. If there were no warning signals at all and camouflage instead, it wouldn’t be Müllerian mimicry either.