Content
- Leaf-tailed gecko
- stick insect
- Dry leaf butterfly
- leafworm
- owls
- cuttlefish
- ghost mantis
- pygmy seahorse
Camouflage is a natural way that some animals have to protect themselves from predators. In this way, they hide in nature by adapting to it. There are other animals that camouflage themselves to achieve exactly the opposite, to go unnoticed before their prey and then hunt them down. This is the case of lions or leopards in the savannas.
The technical fear for the camouflage of animals is cryptis, a word derived from the Greek and meaning "hidden" or "what is hidden". There are different types of basic crypts: immobility, color, pattern and non-visual.
There is a wide variety of animals that camouflage themselves in nature, but in this PeritoAnimal article we'll show you the 8 most popular ones.
Leaf-tailed gecko
It is a gecko from Madagascar (Uroplatus phantasticus), an animal that lives in trees and only descends from them when they come to lay eggs. have a similar appearance to the leaves of the trees so they can mimic themselves perfectly in the environment in which they live.
stick insect
They are elongated stick-like insects, some have wings and live in bushes and trees. During the day hides among the vegetation to protect themselves from predators and at night they go out to eat and mate. Without a doubt, the stick insect (Ctenomorphodes chronus) is one of the animals that are best camouflaged in nature. You may have already come across one without realizing it!
Dry leaf butterfly
They are a type of butterfly whose wings resemble brown leaves, hence its name. There is also a list of animals that camouflage themselves in nature. The dry-leaf butterfly (Zaretisities) camouflages with the tree leaves and in this way it escapes the threat of birds that might want to eat it.
leafworm
They are insects with wings and have the shape and color of green leaves. In this way it manages to camouflage itself perfectly in the vegetation and escapes predators that might want to attack it. As a curiosity, you can say that so far no males of the leafworm have been found, they are all females! So how do they reproduce? They do this through parthenogenesis, a method of reproduction that allows them to segment an unfertilized egg and begin to develop new life.In this way, and because the male gender does not enter the field, the new insects are always female.
owls
These nocturnal birds usually adapt to your environment thanks to their plumage, which is similar to the bark of the trees where they rest. There is a wide variety of owls and each one has its own characteristics adapted to its place of origin.
cuttlefish
We also find animals that camouflage themselves perfectly at the bottom of the oceans. Cuttlefish are cephalopods that perfectly mimic any background, since your skin cells have the ability to change color to adapt and go unnoticed.
ghost mantis
Like other insects, this praying mantis (Phyllocrania paradox) has a dry leaf look, which makes it perfect for disappearing like a ghost in front of predators and therefore is part of the animals that are best camouflaged in nature.
pygmy seahorse
The pygmy seahorse (Hippocampus bargibanti) looks the same as the corals it hides in. It hides so well that it was discovered only by chance. Therefore, in addition to being part of the list of animals that are best camouflaged, it is also part of the smallest animals in the world.
These are just a few examples of animals that camouflage themselves in nature but there are many more. What other animals that camouflage themselves in the wild do you know? Let us know through the comments of this article!