This video about an octopus camouflaging is very interesting. The octopus has perfectly adapted and camouflaged himself to a coral, where he is impossible to see. We are aware the octopus is there until its alarmed and is forced to scape from the unknown man with a camera.
A marine biologist, named Roger Hanlon, was startled at the appearance of this particular marine creature. He had no idea it was there, and still does not know how this eight armed creature could do such thing. With his research group, Hanlon is investigating underwater creatures called cephalapods, which include suit, cuttlefish and octopi. The researchers are still trying to figure out how the octopus could camouflage to such an identical appearance to the natural object it was against. The biologists conclusion was that pigments of the skin called chromatophores are the cells that can create the skin to match the color and textures of its surroundings.
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| Chromatophores |
The natural world is so amazing. Its unbelievable that animals can become their surroundings, and adapt so well to them. For me, the idea of camouflage is so strange and uniquely amazing that makes me what to camouflage. It is so great that this tool that some animals have, help them disappear and protect themselves from bigger animals that can hurt or eat them. Its almost like being invisible, which is an awesome concept. Another thing from this article, besides the amazing ghost-octopus, was that these octopi are color blind. Just like Hanlon said,“The amazing thing is that these animals are color blind yet they are capable of creating color-match patterns,” which is insane if you ask me. I definitely learned a lot with this article about how amazing the natural world really is.
Article Link: Discover Magazine: Disappearing Ghost-Octopus
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