How do chameleon bodies know what color to change to and when to change to it?

Question

How do chameleon bodies know what color to change to and when to change to it?

In: 145

Answer 1

Chameleons don’t change colour to match their surroundings, they change colour to communicate, signal, and show mood. So asking how a chameleon knows when to change colour or what colour to change to is a bit like asking how you know how to blush, or how you know how send blood into your genitals when horny. It just sort of happens.

Now cuttlefish and octopus – they absolutely DO change colour to camouflage themselves into their surroundings. It’s completely nuts and I have no idea how they do it. Check out a video of a cuttlefish camouflaging itself against a checkerboard design. Bonkers.