Chameleons' Color-Changing Secret
Chameleons can rapidly change color by adjusting a layer of special cells nestled within their skin. Unlike other animals that change color, such as the squid and octopus, chameleons do not modify their hues by accumulating or dispersing pigments within their skin cells.
Instead, the lizards rely on structural changes that affect how light reflects off their skin. A study has found that the lizards possess a layer of skin cells that contain floating nanocrystals. The tiny crystals are roughly evenly spaced throughout the cell and this spacing determines the wavelength of light that the cells reflect.
The latest research shows that chameleons switch color from green to red by actively changing the spacing between these tiny cellular crystals.
Paper:
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2015/150302/ncomms7368/full/ncomms7368.html
Article:
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/mar/10/scientists-find-out-how-chameleon-changes-colour
#biodiversity #chameleons #coollizards #science
That's interesting...thanks Sam.
ReplyDeleteI believe another difference between chameleons and cephalopods is that the control is hormonal and therefore relatively slow in the case of chameleons, while the control is by the central nervous system and near-instantaneous in the case of cephalopods.
ReplyDelete(the change featured by the gif is suspiciously rapid, to think of it, as is the initial pinkish tint; photoshop might have'd a hand in it)