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A hidden stargazer fish looking out of the sand

Camouflage

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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Animals with this behaviour

Mammals

Birds

Reptiles

Amphibians

Cartilaginous fish

Ray-finned fishes

Cephalopods

Insects

Arachnids

About

Camouflage is a method of concealment that allows otherwise visible animals, military vehicles, or other objects to remain unnoticed by blending with their environment. Examples include a leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier and a leaf-mimic butterfly. Camouflage is a form of visual deception; the term probably comes from camouflet, a French term meaning smoke blown in someone's face as a practical joke.Military camouflage is part of a broad area of deception and concealment from all means of detection including sound and radar; it involves non-camouflage techniques such as use of decoys and electronic jamming.

According to Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection, characteristics such as camouflage that help an animal to survive will tend to evolve in any population.

Camouflage can be achieved in what may seem opposite ways. Mimesis means being seen, but resembling something else, whereas crypsis means being hidden. But in both cases, camouflage is achieved by not being noticed. A third approach, dazzle, means confusing the predator or enemy by moving a conspicuous pattern. The prey or target is visible but hard to hit. Dazzle found military application in the 20th century.

Camouflage is not the only form of animal coloration that helps animals to survive or creates striking natural patterns. Other adaptations include warning coloration, non-concealing forms of mimicry (as when a harmless hoverfly resembles a stinging wasp), the use of bright colours in sexual selection, and the use of pigment in the skin to protect against sunburn.

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Behaviours

Other Morphology behaviours

BBC News about Camouflage

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