Are you old enough to remember Mood Rings?
For those who aren’t they were rings with a kind of liquid crystal that changed
their color depending on the wearer’s temperature; they were also marketed to
change their color depending on your mood.
A new study published in the journal
Biology Letters shows that chameleons actually do the real thing, that is, they
change their color not just for camouflage, but to reflect their mood, status,
even objectives.
According to Russell Ligon, lead author of the
study from Arizona State University’s School of Life Sciences, the ability of a
chameleon to change its color is controlled by the reptile’s hormonal and
nervous system, with other factors such as light and temperature also coming
into play.
Chameleon
Power
While many animals boast of unique
colorations, such as colorful plumage, these are fairly static, having
different colors that stay the same shade. Chameleons however, never have a
dull moment, changing colors seemingly whenever they please.
Ligon explains that chameleons likely
evolved to develop the ability to make rapid and dramatic changes to their
color due to the need to communicate with other chameleons while living in
their natural habitats: up in the trees. To communicate, other animals tend to
make unique behavioral displays, something chameleons have a hard time doing up
in the treetops.
Color
Changes
Chameleons change their color during
confrontations with other chameleons, as Ligon found when observing males.
However, they also happen during mating rituals, with both male and female
chameleons change their colors dark shades to bright green, blue, and yellow
hues throughout the mating process.
