Blending Right In
When you're not one of the apex predators of the world, living in the wild can be pretty scary. Luckily, there are a few skills some animals have been gifted to help them increase their chances of survival. One of the most useful tools is camouflage, and these five marine animals have got it down pat.
1. Octopus
With their blobby bodies capable of adapting to their surroundings, octopuses know a thing or two about camouflage. They're not just capable of changing colors, they're even able to change their skin texture to better disappear into whatever they're trying to copy. When they really try, they're practically invisible to the eye.
Diane Picchiottino on Unsplash
2. Pygmy Seahorse
Not only are pygmy seahorses already tiny in size, which makes them hard to notice, but their bumpy outer appearance makes it easy to mistake them as part of the coral reef, too. They can even change their color to better match their surroundings!
O.J.Brett, Norway. on Wikimedia
3. Painted Frogfish
Think of the painted frogfish as the chameleons of the ocean. Able to transform easily into its surroundings by shifting colors, its rocky exterior helps it easily blend into the rocks and coral on the sea floor. This mechanism definitely works great in its defense, expertly hiding away from dangerous predators.
4. Decorator Crab
You might as well call decorator crabs the masters of camouflaging, because they definitely put in the work to hide from predators. By literally decorating their shells with pieces of the ocean, like seaweed, gravel, or algae, they're able to effortlessly become one with the environment.
5. Leafy Seadragon
Is that an animal or a piece of seaweed drifting in the water? That's how amazing this unique sea creature is at camouflaging. With "leaf" literally in its name, the leafy seadragon has no problem tricking its chaser into thinking it's just some random plant floating around. For all the carnivores, there's no way they'll want to eat that!
