Octopuses focus on key features for successful camouflage

(PhysOrg.com) -- On the open sand plains of the Caribbean seafloor, where soft-bodied animals are routinely exposed to predators, camouflage can be key to survival. Perhaps no group of animals is quite as ...

How could a colorblind animal know how to change its skin color to blend into its surroundings? And what will the animal's predator "see," looking at its prey before and after it hides?

Researchers are studying the remarkable shape- and color-changing abilities of the octopus and its close relatives in an effort to understand one of nature’s most remarkable feats of camouflage and self-preservation.

At Hogwarts, Harry Potter uses an invisibility cloak to hide from his enemies. In nature, animals like cuttlefish and chameleons use the awe-inspiring tricks of camouflage to hide from theirs.

Cuttlefish are well-known masters of disguise who use highly developed camouflage tactics to blend in almost instantaneously with their surroundings. These relatives of octopuses and squid are part of a class of animals called ...

What drove the evolution of color change in chameleons? Chameleons can use color change to camouflage and to signal to other chameleons, but a new paper published in the open-access journal PLoS Biology shows that the ne ...

By day, insects provide the white noise of the South, but the night belongs to the amphibians. In a typical year, the Southern air hangs heavy from the humidity and the sounds of wildlife.

Dog parks are a great place to socialize dogs and let them play, but they also have some hidden dangers, according to a Kansas State University veterinarian.

(Phys.org) —Two British research teams have begun using micro-CT scanners to watch butterfly pupae develop into butterflies while still alive inside their chrysalis shells. The first team did so as a means ...

(Phys.org) —A team of researchers in the United States has found that dogs appear to gain a "high" from running, similar to the well known "runner's high" experienced by people who run or jog frequently. ...

The great ecological success of spiders is often substantiated by the evolution of silk and webs. Biologists of the Kiel University and the University of Bern now found an alternative adaptation to hunting ...

(Phys.org) —The behavior of social spiders may settle debates over the benefits of older siblings. Cornell researchers studying Australian social huntsman spiders have discovered that younger siblings thrive ...