Camouflage

:For the German synth pop band, see Camouflage (band).

Natural camouflage

In nature, there is a strong evolutionary pressure for animals to blend into their environment or conceal their shape; for prey animals to avoid predators and for predators to be able to sneak up on prey. Some animals use mimicry, seeming to be something else, such as a leaf, a stone, a twig, or a similar but more dangerous/poisonous animal. Some mimics also simulate the natural movement, i.e. of a leaf in the wind, this is called procryptic behaviour or habit. Other animals attach or attract natural materials to their body for concealment.

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A few animals have "chromatic response," changing color in changing environments, either seasonally (ermine, snowshoe hare) or far more rapidly with chromatophores in their integument (chameleon, the cephalopod family).

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Some animals, notably in aquatic environments, also take steps to camouflage the odours they create that may attract predators.

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Aquatic camouflage also includes illumination and counter-illumination with photophores. Schooling fish may have bright distinct marking that, while poor camouflage for an individual, blends with others in a large school, making it difficult to distinguish a single fish.

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Countershading (or obliterative camouflage) - different colours on upper and lower surfaces in graduating tones from a light 'belly' to a darker back - is common in the sea and on land. This is sometimes called Thayer's law, after Abbott H. Thayer who published a paper on the form in 1896.

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