Camouflage is the art of not being seen, practised by predators, prey and plants. Colour might help an organism blend in with their environment - even when the organism itself cannot see in colour. Body shapes can make them appear to be some other object common in the same surroundings. Patterns might sometimes make an animal more noticeable, but they can also help disguise outline. The tiger's stripes and the giraffe's patches make them almost impossible to detect in dappled light.
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Eclectic dress sense
A dresser crab clothes itself from the sea floor to blend in anywhere.
A dresser crab clothes itself from the sea floor to blend in anywhere.
Checkmate
Can a flounder, master camouflage artist, match itself to unfamiliar ground?
Flounders are well known for their camouflage skills, and on a familiar background they really do seem to vanish suddenly. But the challenge here was to see how good these masters were with less familiar backgrounds. Placing a checker board in their way demonstrates just how good these creatures really are at fooling potential predators.
Handy disguise
Stick insects fool ants into protecting their eggs.
Stick insects fool ants into protecting their eggs.
Babysitting birds
Camouflage protects a plover's eggs but a tinamou provides personal cover.
Camouflage protects a plover's eggs but a tinamou provides personal cover.
Hidden in plain sight
The leafy sea dragon's effective disguise even fools other fish.
The leafy sea dragon's effective disguise even fools other fish.
Brown-throated sloth
Pygmy three-toed sloth
Three-toed sloths
Horseshoe bats
Arctic fox
Black bear
Clouded leopard
Eurasian lynx
Fossa
Jaguar
Leopard
Leopard cat
Polar bear
Serval
Snow leopard
Tiger
Wildcat
Bharal
Giraffe
Roe deer
Saiga
Hare
Mountain hare
Tarsiers
California mouse
Harvest mouse
Himalayan marmot
Mole
African penguin
Macaroni penguin
Mallard
Nightjar
Harpy eagle
Osprey
Water rail
Capercaillie
Pheasant
Ptarmigan
Temminck's tragopan
North Island brown kiwi
Athene owls
Burrowing owl
Eared owls
Eurasian eagle owl
Horned owls
Little owl
Long-eared owl
Short-eared owl
Snowy owl
Red-billed quelea
Reed warbler
Skylark
Superb lyrebird
Treecreeper
Wren
Common ringed plover
Little ringed plover
Oystercatcher
Stone curlew
Bittern
American crocodile
Gharial
Nile crocodile
Yacare caiman
Sinornithosaurus
Adder
African rock python
Boa constrictor
Cape dwarf chameleon
Eyelash viper
Fer-de-lance
Flat-tailed geckos
Frilled lizard
Grass snake
Labord's chameleon
Mangrove cat snake
Rattlesnakes
Sand goanna
Saw-scaled viper
Smooth snake
Spotted python
Thorny devil
Darwin's frog
Marsh frog
Mountain chicken
Smoky jungle frog
Surinam toad
Chinese giant salamander
Great crested newt
Japanese giant salamander
Brimstone
Cabbage white
Dark green fritillary
Gatekeeper butterfly
Marbled white
Marsh fritillary
Painted lady
Peacock butterfly
Praying mantisCamouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see (crypsis), or by disguising them as something else (mimesis). Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier, and the leaf-mimic katydid's wings. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern, making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. Some animals, such as chameleons and octopuses, are capable of actively changing their skin pattern and colours, whether for camouflage or for signalling.
Military camouflage was spurred by the increasing range and accuracy of firearms in the 19th century. In particular the replacement of the inaccurate musket with the rifle made personal concealment in battle a survival skill. In the 20th century, military camouflage developed rapidly, especially during the First World War. On land, artists such as André Mare designed camouflage schemes and observation posts disguised as trees. At sea, warships and troop carriers were painted in dazzle patterns that were highly visible, but designed to confuse enemy gunners as to the target's speed, range, and heading. During and after the Second World War, a variety of camouflage schemes were used for aircraft and for ground vehicles in different theatres of war. The use of radar in the Cold War period has largely made camouflage for fixed-wing military aircraft obsolete.
Non-military use of camouflage includes making cell telephone towers less obtrusive and helping hunters to approach wary game animals. Patterns derived from military camouflage are frequently used in fashion clothing, exploiting their strong designs and sometimes their symbolism. Camouflage themes recur in modern art, and both figuratively and literally in science fiction and works of literature.
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