The REAL Reason Chameleons Change Color

chameleons don't change color to blend in and many people think chameleons change color like this this video has 18 million views on YouTube and it's fake TV shows get this wrong movies get this wrong paint commercials get this wrong it seems the world has a huge misconception about how chameleons actually change color color so what's the truth inside a chameleon skin you'll find cells with red and yellow pigment I thought these cells were like the pigment cells in Squid and cuttlefish who you see how they're moving cuttlefish can expand or contract these pigment cells using little muscles this helps them change all sorts of colors very quickly but I was wrong chameleons can't control these pigment cells they're just there but they also have cells with darker melanin pigment chameleons can control these not like this but like this this is a video of a tilapia changing color tilapia they can disperse the melanin through their cells which can help a fish like this Dusky rabbit fish change color and when they want to change back they just reverse the process chameleons can do the same thing they can disperse the melanin in their skin to get darker or concent rate it to get lighter but that's not all there's one more thing that chameleons use to change color microscopic crystals in their skin these crystals reflect specific colors of light and by changing the distance between the crystals chameleons can change the color of light that they reflect so these these are kind of like the tools that chameleons use to change color they can disperse and concentrate melanin in certain cells and change the distance between their skin crystals to reflect different colors of light okay but what do they look like after they change colors well they don't look like this we know that already okay fine I'll I'll show you here's a real chameleon color changing video it's from a scientific study the original color of the chameleon will be in the bottom [Music] corner the change is much more gradual and it's not as uniform but not all chameleons look the same when they change color here are some photos from another research project the chameleon started this brownish color and they could change to be very bright green have black stripes with bright orange swatches or be much more pale with kind of like a Yellow Tail and feet but here's our next question though why do chameleons change color in the first place because it's definitely not to blend in chameleons blend in more with their default color when they change color they're they're very bright and extremely colorful this would be a terrible form of camouflage to put it simply chameleons are most often changing color as a reflection of their mood when they're very bright or colorful that means they're very excited so maybe they're interested in fighting or mating when chameleons are a darker or more muted color that means they're feeling more submissive or relaxed maybe they're admitting defeat in a fight or showing they're uninterested in mating chameleon colors are really just the beginning Bird colors can get even more confusing here's a cardinal I found that was half red and half gray why do you think it's like this the answer really surprised me if you'd like to hear what it is click this video

Channel: Odd Animal Specimens

Views: 783,903

Keywords: chameleon, chameleons, chameleons changing color, why do chameleons change color, odd animal specimens, animal facts, chameleon facts, chameleon videos, how do chameleons change color

Id: Dd7UVLkuxC4

Length: 4min 59sec (299 seconds)

Published: Fri Oct 27 2023