From deadly predators hidden in plain sight to some of the smartest sea creatures in the
world, here are 10 animals with amazing camouflage!!
10.
Malaysian Orchid Mantis
The praying mantis is famous for its cannibalistic tendencies, but one species has a far more
beautiful quality- it looks just like an orchid flower.
Known as the orchid mantis, it's found across Southeast Asia.
It's only the females of the species that have petal-like legs, and are yellow or whitish-pink
in color, while the males are much smaller and bright green.
Now, you might think this adaptation is a great way for the female mantis to avoid predators,
but the reality is far more sinister.
As opposed to being camouflaged for defensive reasons, this insect’s camouflage has developed
to improve their ability at hunting.
It’s completely unique in the world of insects.
The female pretends to be the beautiful, peaceful orchid flower, and waits around for other
insects to approach her in search of pollen.
Then she reaches out and grabs them with her spiky legs!!
9.
Lichen Katydid
The Lichen Katydid is a species of insect that lives mostly in Central and South America.
You might never see one, though, because they are extremely talented and their camouflage
method makes them very difficult to see.
Plus they like to live in the upper regions of the forest canopy where there is more lichen
on tree trunks.
Some have more recently also been discovered in Australia.
In its nymphal form, the Lichen Katydid is virtually indistinguishable from its natural
surroundings.
Not only do their legs and antenna look like the lichen they crawl over, but even the dark
parts of their bodies are grooved to look like negative space.
Once fully matured, the Katydid grows wings and becomes greener in color, but this too
allows them to blend in almost perfectly with their surroundings.
They have spindly protrusions that serve no other known purpose than to make them look
even more plant-like!!
The wings, again, look just like the lichen where they like to hang out, and the greener
body allows them to hide in grasses- resembling a tuft of lichen blowing in the wind.
And now for number 8, but first if you are a returning subscriber welcome back!!!
If you are new here be sure to subscribe and click the bell down below to join our notification
squad!!
8.
Common Baron Caterpillar
It might take you a while to spot this caterpillar in this image, but that is, of course, exactly
what it wants.
The Common Baron Caterpillar lives in the lush vegetation of India and Southeast Asia
and particularly likes to eat the leaves of the mango tree.
This makes them vulnerable to hungry birds, and mango farmers, so this near perfect camouflage
is a vital defense for the Common Baron Caterpillar who wants to eventually become a Common Baron
Butterfly.
Once they turn into butterflies, they become a shade of olive brown that then helps them
stay camouflaged against the ground, which is this species’ favorite place for reproducing.
See?
They've got everything covered!!!
7.
Stick Insect
You’ve probably seen this next creature up close, or you may have even had one as
a pet!!
Stick insects can grow to be between half an inch and 13 inches long and can live for
up to 3 years.
These insects are unique because everything about them is designed to fit into the background-
there's virtually no difference between them and an actual stick.
There are nearly 3000 different species of stick insect- and their close relative the
leaf insect, in the world.
Each one is perfectly attuned to the specific environment in which they live.
They typically match the surrounding color, and can have extremely bright and bold colors
to look like leaves or flowers, with others being far more subtle.
All stick insects have wings, but these can range between the grandest and most beautiful
ones, to nothing more than just stumps.
There might be even more species out there to be discovered, but of course, they are
hard to see!!
Beyond their obvious defensive ability of camouflage, different species of stick insect
have developed further protection.
Most will fake their own death to hopefully deter predators that only want live prey,
and others will drop their own limbs to help them get away.
Some species have spines on their legs to give predators a nasty surprise when biting
them, but the most effective might just be the North American ‘Aniso-morpha bupres-toides'
who emits a foul-smelling fluid that literally makes it smell of death.
6.
Owls
Owls are some of the most effective nocturnal predators with their virtually silent wings,
powerful eyesight, and sharpened talons to grab their unsuspecting prey.
During the day, however, they need to stay out of harm's way- and to do this they use
very effective camouflage.
There are at least 216 different species of owl, and each one does this in a slightly
different way.
It's amazing, when you see these images, how well their feathers allow them to blend into
the background.
Different species are native to different climates, and so reflect the common color
schemes found there.
It's not just their feathers that they can use to camouflage either, though.
Owls are also able to increase their size or make themselves look small and skinny.
This allows them to fit into the grooves and curves of a tree, for example, to make themselves
look like a part of the natural structure.
Owls are very difficult to spot!
5.
Tasseled Anglerfish
When you think of an Anglerfish, you might be thinking of the deep sea predators with
lanterns hanging in front of their toothy mouths helping them attract prey in the dark.
But there are actually more than 200 different types of Anglerfish- some of which you’d
have virtually no chance of seeing, even if you were able to go to the deep sea and swim
up close to them.
However, the Tasseled Anglerfish, is common in the shallows of reefs around Australia.
You can stare at images of this fish for ages without spotting it, its camouflage is so
good in between the sponges and the seaweed- but once you spot the eye, you can just about
make out the shape of the fish.
Again, this form of camouflage is crucial to keeping the Tasseled Anglerfish hidden
from predators, but it's also vital for them to get food of their own.
They are relatively lazy and slow fish, and aren't the most agile as they move through
the water.
They prefer, instead, to encourage prey to come towards them.
As with all Anglerfish species, it has an anatomical lure called an ‘Illicium’.
This has a worm-like structure on the tip of it, which the fish twitches through the
water.
Hungry fish see what they think is a worm and swim in to eat it- completely unaware
of the Anglerfish that is camouflaged within the surroundings.
Before you know it, the unsuspecting fish has been swallowed whole, and the Anglerfish
can put out its lure to do the same thing all over again.
4.
Uroplatus Gecko
The Uroplatus Gecko, often referred to as the Satanic Leaf-tailed gecko, is native to
the forests of Eastern Madagascar.
Pretty intense name right??
Its entire body is shaped to resemble a dead leaf.
It's twisted, has veined skin, and even looks like it has been partly eaten by foragers,
or decayed.
These all combine to help the gecko blend into the foliage lying around the jungle and
avoid the glare of hopeful predators.
They are nocturnal and don't actually have any eyelids.
Instead, they have a transparent covering over their eyeballs and use their long tongues
to clean away any dirt.
They feed on small insects and are able to move through the trees quickly because of
their sticky fingers and toes.
Even if a predator does spot them, they have a couple of other defensive tactics.
They can flatten their body against the surface they are on to reduce their shadow, they can
open their jaws extremely wide to reveal a bright red mouth that can scare other creatures
off or, as a last ditch attempt, they can shed their own tail, which will continue to
twitch and distract a would-be predator.
3.
Poop Caterpillar
If there was one thing that you could disguise yourself as that you’re certain nothing
else would want to eat it… what would you choose?
Well, maybe there’s no better choice than bird droppings- yes you heard that right-
and it turns out that there are quite a few species of caterpillar that imitate it.
They’ll be happily eating leaves when they detect a predator- at which point they curl
up to look like a bird dropping, and because NOTHING wants to eat that, the predators move
away.
One experiment conducted in Tokyo focussed on the Apochima juglansiaria, a bird poop-imitating
moth caterpillar.
They wanted to know how effective this method of camouflage was, and found something surprising.
It wasn’t simply enough to be the same color as bird poop- it was just as important to
be mimicking its behavior.
This is because a birds' eyesight is quite good, so they can spot a caterpillar who’s
acting like a caterpillar, no matter what their color or camouflage.
The moment the caterpillar is curled up, or bent, then the chances that a bird will attack
them is significantly reduced.
It just goes to show that if it looks like poop, and acts like poop--- then it might
not necessarily always be poop!
Nature is tricky that way!!
2.
Pygmy Seahorse
The ocean can be a tough place to live, especially if you’re less than an inch long!!
But there's always a way to survive, and the pygmy seahorse has developed a near-perfect
camouflage.
They are found in the Coral Triangle area of Southeast Asia and amazingly have taken
on the coloration of one of two distinct gorgonian corals of the Pacific ocean that are only
found in that region.
This seahorse, which is one of the smallest in the world, is even covered in coral-like
tubercles to help with the disguise, and they are notoriously difficult to find.
In fact, they were first discovered not in the ocean, but in someone's aquarium.
They had gone out and brought back some wild coral and it turned out these little guys
were hanging out on it.
Please don’t do this yourself!!
If these seahorses were only found by accident, it proves that there could be many more species
out there just waiting to be found!
1.
Octopus
The octopus is arguably by far the most intelligent creature that uses camouflage!
If you’ve ever seen an octopus documentary or maybe in an aquarium, you’ll know just
how magical they are.
They can easily change color and use it as a very advanced tool.
They actually change their color to attract a mate, to hide, or to send messages to each
other.
The famous blue-ringed octopus, for example, flashes blue rings to warn potential predators
that they should stay far away.
Unlike other animals whose camouflage comes from constant colorations, an Octopus can
change its color depending on its needs.
They are able to do this because they have chromatophores beneath their skin, which use
a combination of pigment, nerves, and muscles to change their external appearance.
They are thought to change based on thought alone, so once the brain of the octopus gives
the signal, the color change ripples through its body.
Further to their ability to change color, Octopuses can also change the texture of their
skin to mimic their surroundings.
Some species, such as the mimic octopus, is even able to impersonate the shape of other
sea creatures, so if they see a predator approaching, they will make themselves appear to be something
far less tasty.
Fun fact: the plural of octopus is octopuses, I looked it up!!
Overall, it would be difficult to find any other animal on earth that’s as good at
camouflage as the Octopus--- although, that doesn’t necessarily include any animal that
has, so far, managed to completely evade our detection altogether!
Something interesting could be hiding in plain sight!!
Thanks for watching!!
Remember to subscribe and see you next time!!!