Why do some animals, like octopus and chameleons, have the ability to change color, and how do they achieve this?

Question

Why do some animals, like octopus and chameleons, have the ability to change color, and how do they achieve this?

In: Biology

Answer 1

The most important condition to blend into environment is to percive the environment.

Heve you ever wondered how Orange tiger hides in Green forest? Tiger percive green and orange as same colar and many animals which are tigers pray percive colors in same way.

Octopuses can actually see many colors ( more then human can)

Than goes fisibility. Mimicing is complex and energy heavy mechanism ( octopuses even have separate brain for it purposes) only weak and small animals which tend to be prey to very different hunters would benefit from such resource waste. For them it is not enough to hide from concrete predators, they need to hide from every in wast ocean.

Chameleons are also outcast. Relatively to their size they are patheticly weak and slow. They cannot outrun any danger, thus they need to hide.

Why so few animal evolved to activly mimic colors? Because hiding is the worst escape strategy. It is good for sleepovers though. But for mere sleepovers passive mimicing is sufficient enough.