Why are "most" wetsuits black?

It's only speculation that sharks mistake us for seals. More likely, they're attracted to thrashing, since sharks don't see well (esp. in murky waters). Different color suits wouldn't help in that case, and actually might attract them more if contrasting colors were used.

That being said, wetsuits (esp. surfing wetsuits) used to be all kinds of crazy neon colors. Thankfully, the '80s ended.

[sigh] here we go again.  I'd like to see your research as to why sharks mistake humans for seals and sea lions.  I dive, swim and surf in So Cal and am pretty up on this stuff.  Never seen confirmation of your theory.  it's not so "duh"

Number of reasons your theory is wong, most especially because color is absorbed underwater, starting with red, then moving through the prism as you go deeper and/or further from the subject.  If you cut yourself and start bleeding at 20 or 30 feet, the blood will look green (the only reason underwater photos look correct is due to artifical light, i.e., strobes).  COlors are also absorbed by the preence of water between the lens (eye) and the subject.  Shark from 20 feet is not going to see color.  I know, because a diver at 20 feet away does not see color.  Just shades, at best.

Second, sharks (well, great whites anyway) tend to hunt from below in areas where they feed and visibility is very poor.  And they are looking up.  Even if the viz is bad, what happens when you look up at something that is backlit?  Take a look at this link and tell me what color the animal is....  (sorry, link is obnoxious but I don't know how to shorten)  http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pro.corbis.com/images/CB057871.jpg%3Fsize%3D572%26uid%3D%257BA3B7BFA7-C9B1-4585-BF2C-351965649176%257D&imgrefurl=http://pro.corbis.com/search/Enlargement.aspx%3FCID%3Disg%26mediauid%3DA3B7BFA7-C9B1-4585-BF2C-351965649176&h=267&w=400&sz=19&tbnid=GtCHk62mniMJ::&tbnh=83&tbnw=124&prev=/images%3Fq%3DBeluga%2Bwhale%2Bsilhouette%2Bphoto&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=1&ct=image&cd=1

And that is on a clear day with sunshine.  Now subtract about 80 foot of visibility

Of course, you can always order a custom wetsuit in any color you want.  I've seen green, yellow, orange, camouflage, all sorts of colors.

You found a black beluga whale? That's pretty awesome.

I guess everything comes back around.

Come to think of it...I do have this swimsuit that matches pretty much perfectly....

...with the matching swim cap to boot! If this guy is not carefull, he'll have people turning in front of him thinking they just passed a swim buoy!!

I'd make a crappy shark.  I thought it was a Mola Mola at first glance. 

According to Discovery (HD of course!) fishes have light to the bottom so that they are a bit more camoflaged from beneath...a predator looks up and just sees light. Most marine animals eyes are not that fine tuned. Also if you are looking down into the deep, a dark top hides you better from raptors (birds of prey) and gives sharks and other marine predators a better chance of sneaking up with out alerting the prey...man I need to find some work to do...

That's pretty cool the first few times you see it.

Not that I was bleeding buckets of blood, but whenever I've cut myself underwater the sharks never really seemed to care all that much.  But whenever I play "injured fish" and wiggle around a bit, they immediately take notice and come in close to see what's going on.  Sometimes I'm in a swimsuit and sometimes I'm in wetsuits of various colors and styles, but it doesn't appear to influence things one way or the other.  Alas, one of my wetsuits in fact is a 1988 neon yellow O'Neill.

The Marine Mammals, and close to the surface critters are dark on the top to help them absorb heat from the sun. Whales, Dolphins, Seals ETC, are all warm blooded, and benefit greatly by soaking up some additional heat from the sun.

Cheers

Because black hides camel toe and moose knuckle.

I have never heard MOOSE KNUCKLE before. I gather that is the male anatomy.

well, sharks have poor eyesight.  Very serverly near-sighted.  Not sure if they are color blind as well. 

Sharks hunt by the senses of smell and feel - the smell of blood and the feel of turbulence generates by fish/seals moving. 

So it doesn't matter what color your suit is.  If the shark decide to persue you, it will, and you cannot out-swim a shark.  The best thing one can do when a shark is near is NOT to move.  Float on your back, stay calm. 

In the event you forgot the sarcasm font, Actually, no I don't, and no I am not.  Sorry if I do offer facts on things I do know, and facts which are important to me (i.e., misconceptions about sharks, leading to their being placed on protected species lists).   For example, sharks are not colorblind

I have just a little experience being around sharks, i'd dare say more than anyone on this board, and I used to work at teh Long Beach Aquarium

But please, feel free to keep believing in myths no matter what I say. 

Chris~

Sorry to get totally off topic, but I love the photo of the Hammerheads... where was it taken, if you don't mind my asking?

Andi

Thanks, Isla del Coco - about 350 miles (40 hours by boat) off Costa Rica