 Perhaps that famous song about a land somewhere beyond the rainbow had nothing to do with extraordinary colors, but somehow, after seeing these creatures, one might think that should have been a factor.
The animals shown below seem to literally spit in the face of Mother Nature, who surely had something to drink before creating some of them. Others are man-made so to speak, as you will soon see.
Consider the leopard gecko, whose natural habitat lies in parts of Central Asia, Pakistan and India, where the terrain is dry and rocky.
Its species name, macularius, is derived from the Latin word macula, meaning "spot or blemish," referring to the animal's natural markings, which serve as camouflage from predators.
Geckos are nocturnal and subterranean. Their triangular heads and long tails are receptacles for fat storage.
Most of the world's known transparent creatures live underwater, so transparent four-legged animals are extremely rare.
The research team at Hiroshima University's Institute for Amphibian Biology, headed by Professor Masayuki Sumida, has created a transparent frog whose internal organs are visible through its skin.
These see-through frogs open a new door into the study of diseases and in the development of medical treatments as they permit scientists to monitor the status of internal organs and blood vessels in living frogs, without having to dissect them.
In order to create a frog that would remain transparent throughout its life cycle, Professor Sumida bred two specimens of the Japanese brown frog (Rana japonica) with a genetic mutation that left them with pale skin. He then selectively bred their offspring.
"Transparent frogs will prove useful as laboratory animals because they make it easier and cheaper to observe the development and progress of cancer, the growth and aging of internal organs, and the effects of chemicals on organs," said Sumida.
Running a pig farm in the suburban Yang Town in Beijing's Shunyi District, where he works with Chinese tattoo artists, Wim Delvoye has been tattooing pigs since the 1990s.
His designs range from Louis Vuitton logos and Walt Disney cartoon characters to traditional Chinese motifs.
In 2005, a tattooed pig project was set up in the Art Farm in China, where there are few if any restrictions concerning animal welfare.
Before each pig is tattooed, it is sedated, shaved and applied with Vaseline. The tattoos are designed to grow on the pigs before they are sold to collectors from all over the world.
When the pigs die, the skins become formal art objects as the skins are removed and displayed on walls in various art venues.
"It's a dog's life" is an expression that can be greatly altered after viewing these next two photos.
These and other multi-colored dogs were on display at the China Wuhan Pet Exposition in Wuhan, the capital of central China's Hubei Province.
The panda dog (pictured below) is a human invention.
Kensuke Hirakawa is a beautician and former pet store owner who adopted an abandoned, strange-looking Maltese-crossed-poodle named Colombo, who had no teeth, a stiff hind leg and tear-stained eyes.
Kensuke worked his magic, using puppy-safe hair dye to transform Colombo into a cuddly panda bear.
Since the dog was white to begin with, the former hairdresser dyed black circles around the eyes, the ears, hind and front legs, and strips across the animal's back.
The panda dog now has a new, fulfilling life and has become a trend that may or may not continue.
Here's to colors everywhere - all blends, patterns, variations and designs!
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Oddly Colored Asian Animals: Beyond the Rainbow