What is the real reason chameleons change color?
Chameleons are reptiles of the genus Chamaeleo in the family Chamaeleonidae of the suborder Sauria (lizards). They are very unusual animals, with all kinds of characteristics and behaviors suited to an arboreal life. Most amazing of all, a chameleon's skin color changes with its background, temperature and mood. The color-changing phenomenon is similar to other organisms' protective coloration and warning coloration. Let's take a look below at why chameleons change color!
Why do chameleons change color?
A chameleon's color change depends on three layers of pigment cells in the skin. Unlike other reptiles, a chameleon's ability to change its body color depends entirely on the pigment cells within the surface layers of its skin, and these pigment cells are filled with pigments of different colors. Anderson of the Department of Biology at Cornell University in New York gave a detailed explanation of the chameleon's “color-changing principle”: a chameleon's skin has three layers of pigment cells. The deepest layer is made up of melanophores, whose melanin can intermingle with the cells of the layer above. The middle layer is made up of guanophores, which mainly regulate dark blue pigment. The outermost cells are mainly yellow pigment and red pigment. Anderson said, “Based on a neurologically regulated mechanism, pigment cells, under stimulation from nerves, cause the pigments to intermingle and shift between the layers, achieving the many variations in a chameleon's body color.”
Changes in a chameleon's body color
1. To display its dominance over its territory, a male chameleon will show off against members of its own species that invade its territory, and its body color correspondingly takes on bright colors.
2. When a female chameleon encounters a suitor she does not favor, she will indicate her rejection, and her body color will then become dull and display flashing red spots.
3. In addition, when a chameleon wants to stir up a dispute or launch an attack, its body color becomes very dark.
The functions of a chameleon's color change
1. Camouflage and protection: In nature, the chameleon is fully deserving of the title “master of disguise”. To evade the intrusion of natural enemies and to get close to its prey, this reptile often, without people noticing, changes its body color as needed and then stays motionless, blending itself into the surrounding environment. It can be said that a chameleon's color change is in fact a camouflage weapon, used to make up for its own slowness of movement, enabling it to escape the pursuit of predators and to make hunting easier.
2. Information transmission: The American National Geographic Magazine once wrote in an article that, according to the latest findings of animal experts, chameleons change their body color not only for camouflage; another important function of body color change is to enable information transmission between chameleons, making it easier to communicate with companions, equivalent to human language, and thereby expressing the chameleon's intentions.
A chameleon's colors and emotions
1. Chameleons change their skin color according to temperature, mood and ultraviolet light, and these changes play an important role in signaling their social activity and level of activity. When a female panther chameleon is carrying offspring or wants to tell males that she is not willing to mate, her orange markings turn coffee-colored or black, and through body color she directly tells the other party what she means.
2. A chameleon's epidermal cells expand and contract according to changes in external light and temperature as well as chemical reactions within the body. For example, an angry chameleon may turn bright yellow, because when it is angry, the yellow cells expand, blocking the blue light from the layer below from reflecting out.
3. For a chameleon, the depths of the skin determine its beautiful appearance. A calm chameleon appears green, because yellow cells that have not fully contracted allow part of the blue light to reflect out.
4. Male chameleons become more brightly colored when displaying their dominance. When a female shows hostility toward a male, or is unwilling to accept a certain status, her color becomes darker or red spots appear, and an aggressive chameleon's body color becomes darker.
5. When angry, a chameleon turns yellow or red; when attacking, it turns black. When you see a chameleon showing these colors, you should be careful and not provoke it, otherwise the chance of being bitten by it will increase!