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Imagine you have low magic, low tech nomads with a magical equivalent of microscopes, and a rudimentary understanding of genetics and optics (blame magic). They are selectively breeding livestock for nearly half a million years, and will covet any with unique wool.

There are two different ways I can imagine this maybe working, but perhaps you can think of others:

  • Firstly you could have hollow hair with a central cavity, or a wall thickness just the right size to cause optical interference.
  • Secondly you could have the scales on the hairs themselves in a spacing which causes optical interference.

Is it actually plausible that you could get structural color evolving in mammals wool? If so, could it replicate anything structural coloration can do in birds? Or would structurally colored hair be limited in what optical effects and/or colors it could produce?

There should be no genetic engineering involved beyond selective breeding.

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    $\begingroup$ something is seriously wrong with me, I've been trying to coax a Angora rabbit to do something to a Chrysospalax golden mole since they are similar in size and you need wool right? $\endgroup$
    – user6760
    Commented Feb 16 at 9:07
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    $\begingroup$ Maybe switch the [hard science] tag out for the [science based] one, people are going to find it hard to find actual research papers for any elements of this I feel, the best you can probably hope for is some Wikipedia links to illustrate some basics behind their reasoning I think, I could be wrong of course but the hard science tag doesn't seem necessary for this one to me. $\endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    Commented Feb 16 at 9:18
  • $\begingroup$ @Pelinore - indeed. From hard science tag description: "For questions that require unequivocal proof that answers are correct through the use of equations, empirical evidence, scientific papers, etc". Scientific papers are filed for peer review, they prove nothing and by their nature are in doubt. The only way to equivocally prove this breeding can be done is to actually do it. $\endgroup$
    – D'Monlord
    Commented Feb 16 at 9:26
  • $\begingroup$ You won't get the sharply defined patterns you get in peacocks feathers, hair (or wool) isn't held stiffly in place like a feathers individual filaments with their hooks so that's not going to be possible, particularly if you want usable wool, single colours and broad patterns (blue on the back with a cream belly and pink socks or whatever) should be doable, presuming you want to use wool as wool single colours make more sense with different breeds for each .. seems like a lot of work to avoid Dyeing though, which is better (more flexible) as same white wool can be used for any colour ;) $\endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    Commented Feb 16 at 10:28
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    $\begingroup$ @VakusDrake lacking any other method to reliably achieve it in clothing Iridescence could be the big draw certainly ;) and science type dudes (with magic tools or otherwise) are notorious for doing things just for the hell of it anyway ;) given viewed images of golden mole rats iridescence can be done. $\endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    Commented Feb 16 at 21:11

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Yes and no.

Some colors of butterfly wings are structural in nature, so this effect definitely can happen in nature.

The problem is, you want it to be wool. Structural coloration due to its nature deals very poorly with dust, oil, water, dirt, or mechanical force. Wool is rather dirty. So there is no evolutionary benefit for an animal to get structurally colored wool.

Also cloth takes a lot of physical punishment both in manufacturing and everyday usage. It is also often gets dirty and has to be washed with aggressive substances. Structural coloring is a neat idea but not particularly practical.

They are selectively breeding livestock for nearly half a million years

This part is very suspicious TBH because it implies existence of relatively stable civilization which in half a million years didn't find a better way to manufacture colorful cloth.

Homo sapiens didn't exist as a species half a million years ago.

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    $\begingroup$ @L.Dutch - equations? In biology? "What if" question about peculiar mutations and selective breeding has to have equations? Good luck with that. $\endgroup$
    – D'Monlord
    Commented Feb 16 at 8:56
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    $\begingroup$ read the entire sentence, without stopping at the coma: equations, empirical evidence, scientific papers, other citations, etc. $\endgroup$
    – L.Dutch ♦
    Commented Feb 16 at 9:26
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    $\begingroup$ Here just throw these in, structural coloration, selective breeding, all he wants is to change the physical shape of individual hair filaments making up wool, presuming his magic microscopes are strong enough to be able to see what they're doing it self evidently can be done in far less than the allotted time, we've made more significant changes to pigeons and other animals in far less. $\endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    Commented Feb 16 at 9:54
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    $\begingroup$ You might also note that the Golden Mole is noted as having structurally coloured fur in that wikipedia link on structural colour, as evidence that it's definitely possible to have in the fur, hair and wool of mammals. $\endgroup$
    – Pelinore
    Commented Feb 16 at 10:34
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    $\begingroup$ Many ducks (including the familiar mallards) have structural coloration in a brightly coloured patch on their wing (the speculum) — and they live happily in muddy ponds and streams. So some structural coloration can tolerate plenty of water and dirt, and at least a bit of mechanical force. $\endgroup$
    – Peter LeFanu Lumsdaine
    Commented Feb 16 at 17:23

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