AP BIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Camouflage can change with the environment. Many animals, such as the arctic fox, change their camouflage with the seasons. Octopuses camouflage themselves in response to a threat. Other species, such as nudibranchs-brightly colored, soft-bodied ocean “slugs”-can change their skin coloration by changing their diet.

Detailed explanation-2: -By using their chromatophores and changing the texture of their skin (yes, they can do that too!) octopuses can seamlessly blend into rocks, corals and sponges. They can also use color to warm predators, like the highly-venomous blue ringed octopus who flashes its blue rings to tell other animals to stay away.

Detailed explanation-3: -This process, often used as a type of camouflage, is called physiological colour change or metachrosis. Cephalopods, such as the octopus, have complex chromatophore organs controlled by muscles to achieve this; whereas vertebrates such as chameleons generate a similar effect by cell signalling.

Detailed explanation-4: -Like other mimics, the octopus changes its coloring to disguise itself. More unusually, it can also contort its body to take on the appearance and behavior of several animals, including the lionfish, jellyfish, sea snake, a shrimp, a crab, and others.

Detailed explanation-5: -Just beneath their skin, octopuses have thousands of cells called chromatophores. Each of these cells has a tiny sac filled with either a red, orange, brown, yellow or black pigment and by stretching or squeezing these sacs, they can rapidly change the brightness of each of these colours.