Countershaded Ibex are almost invisible in the Israeli desert. Countershading, or Thayer’s Law, is a form of Camouflage. Countershading in which an animal’s pigmentation is darker dorsally, is often thought An ibex, commonly called by its French name bouquetin also called Steinbock in German an individual of any of several species of wild mountain goats (genus

Lizard fish (to the right of the green rock), Big Island of Hawaii

Camouflage is a method of cryptic or concealing coloration that allows an otherwise visible organism or object to remain indiscernible from the surrounding environment through deception. Deception (also called beguilement or subterfuge) is the act of convincing another to believe Information that is not true or not the whole truth as in Examples include a tiger's stripes and the battledress of a modern soldier. The tiger ( Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family the largest and the most powerful of the four " Big cats quot in the Genus Battledress, in the general sense is the type of uniform used as Combat uniforms as opposed to 'display' dress or formal uniform worn at parades and functions The theory of camouflage covers various strategies which are used. The theoretical basis for camouflage is the underlying methodology used in by Camouflage, whether natural or man-made

Cryptic coloration in nature

Further information: Crypsis

Fish blending with Fire corals at Fuji

Cryptic coloration is the most common form of camouflage, found to some extent in the majority of species. In Ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation Fire corals are colonial marine organisms that look rather like real Coral. The simplest way is for an animal to be of a color similar to its surroundings. Examples include the "earth tones" of deer, squirrels, or moles (to match trees or dirt), or the combination of blue skin and white underbelly of sharks via countershading (which makes them difficult to detect from both above and below). A deer is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. A squirrel is one of the many small or medium-sized Rodents in the family Sciuridae. Sharks ( Superorder Selachimorpha) are a type of Fish with a full cartilaginous Skeleton and a highly streamlined body Countershading, or Thayer’s Law, is a form of Camouflage. Countershading in which an animal’s pigmentation is darker dorsally, is often thought More complex patterns can be seen in animals such as flounder, moths, and frogs, among many others. Flounder (rarely fluke) are Flatfish that live in ocean waters ie A moth is an Insect closely related to the Butterfly, both being of the order Lepidoptera. This article is about the block cipher algorithm For the ultrafast laser pulse measurement technique see Frequency-resolved optical gating.

The type of camouflage a species will develop depends on several factors:

• The environment in which it lives. This is usually the most important factor.
• The physiology and behavior of an animal. Physiology (from Greek grc φύσις physis, "nature origin" and grc -λογία -logia) is the study of the mechanical physical Ethology ( from Greek ἦθος ethos, "character" and λόγος logos, "knowledge") is the scientific study of Animal Animals with fur need different camouflage than those with feathers or scales. Fur is a body hair of any non-human Mammal, also known as the Pelage. Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering or Plumage, on Birds They are considered the most complex integumentary structures In most biological nomenclature a scale ( Greek lepid, Latin squama) is a small rigid plate that grows out of an Animal Likewise, animals who live in groups use different camouflage techniques than those that are solitary.
• If the animal is preyed upon, then the behavior or characteristics of its predator can influence how the camouflage develops. For example, if the predator has achromatic vision, then the animal will not need to match the color of its surroundings. Monochromacy, also known as "total color blindness" is the lack of ability to distinguish colors caused by cone defect or absence

Animals produce colors in two ways:

• Biochromes — natural microscopic pigments that absorb certain wavelengths of light and reflect others, creating a visible color that is targeted towards its primary predator. Chromatophores are pigment -containing and light-reflecting cells found in Amphibians Fish, Reptiles Crustaceans and For the drug referred to as "pigment" see Black tar heroin. In Physics wavelength is the distance between repeating units of a propagating Wave of a given Frequency.
• Microscopic physical structures, which act like prisms to reflect and scatter light to produce a color that is different from the skin, such as the translucent fur of the Polar Bear, which actually has black skin. In Optics, a prism is a transparent optical element with flat polished surfaces that refract Light. In Optics, transparency (also called pellucidity) is the Material property of allowing The polar bear ( Ursus maritimus) is a Bear native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas

Cryptic coloration can change as well. This can be due to just a changing of the seasons, or it can be in response to more rapid environmental changes. For example, the Arctic fox has a white coat in winter, and a brown coat in summer. The Arctic Fox ( Vulpes lagopus) also known as the White Fox or Snow Fox, is a small Fox native to cold Arctic regions of the Mammals and birds require a new fur coat and new set of feathers respectively, but some animals, such as cuttlefish, have deeper-level pigment cells, called chromatophores, that they can control. Mammals ( class Mammalia) are a class of Vertebrate Animals characterized by the presence of Sweat glands, including sweat glands Birds ( class Aves) are bipedal endothermic ( Warm-blooded) Vertebrate animals that lay eggs. Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida belonging to the Cephalopoda class (which also includes Squid, Octopuses Chromatophores are pigment -containing and light-reflecting cells found in Amphibians Fish, Reptiles Crustaceans and Other animals such as certain fish species or the nudibranch can actually change their skin coloration by changing their diet. Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two A nudibranch (pronounced (BrE or (AmE is a member of one Suborder of soft-bodied shell-less marine Opisthobranch Gastropod Mollusks However, the most well-known creature that changes color, the chameleon, usually does not do so for camouflage purposes, but instead to express its mood. Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are squamates that belong to one of the best-known Lizard families

A mackerel tabby cat blending with its (autumn) environment

Beyond colors, skin patterns are often helpful in cryptic coloration as well. ATTENTION *** This article should not become a gallery of people's cat photos The Craik-O'Brien-Cornsweet illusion describes visual perception as occurring through contrasts of outlines. The Cornsweet illusion, also known as Craik-O'Brien-Cornsweet illusion or Craik-Cornsweet illusion, is an Optical illusion that was described in detail One recognizes a dog, for example, not by its color as much as by its shape. Often what matters most for good cryptic coloration is to break up the outline of a creature's body. This can be seen in common domestic pets such as tabby cats, but striping overall in other animals such as tigers and zebras help them blend into their environment, the jungle and the grasslands respectively. ATTENTION *** This article should not become a gallery of people's cat photos The tiger ( Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family the largest and the most powerful of the four " Big cats quot in the Genus Zebras are African Equids best known for their distinctive white and black stripes The latter two provide an interesting example, as one's initial impression might be that their coloration does not match their surroundings at all, but tigers' prey are usually color blind to a certain extent such that they cannot tell the difference between orange and green, and zebras' main predators, lions, are color blind. The lion ( Panthera leo) is a member of the family Felidae and one of four Big cats in the Genus Panthera. In the case of zebras, the stripes also blend together so that a herd of zebras looks like one large mass, making it difficult for a lion to pick out any individual zebra. This same concept is used by many striped fish species as well. Among birds, the white "chinstraps" of Canada geese make a flock in tall grass appear more like sticks and less like birds' heads. The Canada Goose ( Branta canadensis) is a Goose belonging to the Genus Branta native to North America.

Crab with algae all over its body at Moss Beach, California

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. Crabs are decapod Crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (βραχύ / brachy Algae ( sing. alga are a large and diverse group of simple typically Autotrophic organisms ranging from Unicellular to Multicellular forms Natural camouflage is one method that animals use to meet these. There are a number of methods of doing so. One is for the animal to blend in with its surroundings, while another is for the animal to disguise itself as something uninteresting or something dangerous.

There is a permanent co-evolution of the sensory abilities of animals for whom it is beneficial to be able to detect the camouflaged animal, and the cryptic characteristics of the concealing species. In Ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation Different aspects of crypsis and sensory abilities may be more or less pronounced in given predator-prey pairs of species.

A common snakeneck turtle covered in camouflaging algae; when resting this individual would look like an algae covered rock

Some cryptic animals also simulate natural movement, e. The Common snake-neck turtle ( Chelodina longicollis) also known as the Eastern long-neck turtle, Eastern snake-neck turtle, or Common long-neck Algae ( sing. alga are a large and diverse group of simple typically Autotrophic organisms ranging from Unicellular to Multicellular forms g. , 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.

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 (the cephalopod family). The Snowshoe Hare ( Lepus americanus) also called the Varying Hare, is a species of Hare found in North America. Chromatophores are pigment -containing and light-reflecting cells found in Amphibians Fish, Reptiles Crustaceans and The cephalopods ( Greek plural (kephalópoda "head-feet" are the Mollusc class Cephalopoda characterized by

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

Some herd animals adopt a similar pattern to make it difficult to distinguish a single animal. Examples include stripes on zebras and the reflective scales on fish.

Military camouflage

A modern example of military camouflage. Pictured is a US Naval Corpsman wearing desert MARPAT camouflage. Hospital Corpsman (HM is a rating in the United States Navy and a member of the Navy's Hospital Corps MARPAT (short for MAR ine PAT tern is a pixelated Camouflage pattern in use by the United States Marine Corps, introduced with the Marine

Main article: Military camouflage

Camouflage was not in wide use in early western civilization based warfare. Camouflage became an essential part of modern Military tactics after the increase in accuracy and rate of fire of weapons during the 19th century 19th century armies tended to use bright colors and bold, impressive designs. These were intended to daunt the enemy, attract recruits, foster unit cohesion, or allow easier identification of units in the fog of war. The fog of war is a term used to describe the level of ambiguity in situational awareness experienced by participants in military operations Another very important reason for the brightly colored uniforms was that before the invention of gunpowder which did not emit such huge amounts of smoke, it was very hard to decide which unit someone belonged to by looking at their uniforms; furthermore, even in the best of circumstances, the colors tended to be covered by soot after the shooting had gone on for a while. All the dust that the marching units stirred up had a similar effect.

Smaller, irregular units of scouts in the 18th century were the first to adopt colors in drab shades of brown and green. Reconnaissance (also scouting) is a military and medical term denoting exploration conducted to gain information Major armies retained their color until convinced otherwise. The British in India in 1857 were forced by casualties to dye their red tunics to neutral tones, initially a muddy tan called khaki (from the Urdu word for 'dusty' as the tan matched the local dust). The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British A tunic is any of several types of Clothing for the body with or without Sleeves and of various lengths reaching from the hips to the ankles The name of the color khaki comes from the Persian word khak meaning dust and khaki meaning dusty dust covered or earth colored Urdu ( ur '''{{Nastaliq اردو}}''' trans Urdū, historically spelled Ordu) is a Central Indo-Aryan language Urdu is a standardised White tropical uniforms were dyed by the simple expedient of soaking them in tea. This was only a temporary measure. It became standard in Indian service in the 1880s, but it was not until the Second Boer War that, in 1902, the uniforms of the entire British army were standardized on this dun tone for battledress. See also First Boer War,, South African Wars (1879-1915 The Second Boer War ( Dutch: Tweede Boerenoorlog, Afrikaans: Battledress, in the general sense is the type of uniform used as Combat uniforms as opposed to 'display' dress or formal uniform worn at parades and functions Other armies, such as the United States, Russia, Italy, and Germany followed suit either with khaki, or with other colors more suitable for their environments. The United States Army is a military organization whose primary mission is to "provide necessary forces and capabilities. The Military history of Imperial Russia encompasses the period of warfare in which Russian Empire ground, naval and air forces participated from its creation The Italian Army (Esercito Italiano is the ground defense force of the Military of Italy. The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Camouflage netting, natural materials, disruptive color patterns, and paint with special infrared, thermal, and radar qualities have also been used on military vehicles, ships, aircraft, installations and buildings. A striking example of this is the dazzle camouflage used on ships during WW I. Dazzle camouflage, also known as Razzle Dazzle or Dazzle painting, was a Camouflage paint scheme used on Ships extensively during World

Other human uses of cryptic coloration

Hunters often use camouflage clothing that is visually tailored to the game they are hunting. Hunting is the practice of pursuing Animals for Food, Recreation, or Trade. The most striking example if this is the blaze orange camouflage, which relies on the fact that most large game animals, such as deer, are dichromats, and perceive the orange as a dull color. Safety orange (also known as blaze orange, vivid orange, Caltrans orange, or Omaha orange) is a Hue. A deer is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. Dichromacy in humans is a moderately severe color vision defect in which one of the three basic color mechanisms is absent or not functioning On the other hand, ultraviolet dyes commonly used in laundry detergents to make the laundered items appear brighter are visible to many game animals, and using these will cause what appears to the human eye to be cryptically colored clothing to stand out against the background when viewed by an animal with ultraviolet sensitive eyes. Ultraviolet ( UV) light is Electromagnetic radiation with a Wavelength shorter than that of Visible light, but longer than X-rays ^[1]

See also

• Active camouflage
• Animal coloration
• Aposematism
• Everett Warner

References

• Harris, Tom. Active camouflage or adaptive camouflage, is a group of Camouflage technologies which allow an object to blend into its surroundings by use of panels or coatings capable Animal colouration has been a topic of interest and Research in Biology for well over a century Everett Warner ( July 16, 1877 – October 20, 1963) was an American Impressionist painter and Printmaker, who How Animal Camouflage Works. How Stuff Works. Retrieved on 2006-11-13. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St
• How do a zebra's stripes act as camouflage?. How Stuff Works. Retrieved on 2006-11-13. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1002 - English king Ethelred orders the killing of all Danes in England, known today as the St
• Roy R. Behrens - Art and Camouflage: An Annotated Bibliography
• Behrens, Roy R. (2002). FALSE COLORS: Art, Design and Modern Camouflage. Bobolink Books. ISBN 0-9713244-0-9.  
• Newark, Tim (2007). Camouflage. Thames and Hudson, and Imperial War Museum. ISBN 978-0-500-51347-7.  
• Goodden, Henrietta (2007). Camouflage and Art: Design for Deception in World War 2. Unicorn Press. ISBN 978-0-906290-87-3.  
• Jon Latimer, Deception in War, London: John Murray, 2001. Jon Latimer (1964 -) is an historian and writer based in Wales.
• Everett L. Warner, “The Science of Marine Camouflage Design” in Transactions of the Illuminating Engineering Society 14 (5) 1919, pp. Everett Warner ( July 16, 1877 – October 20, 1963) was an American Impressionist painter and Printmaker, who 215-219.
• Everett L. Warner, “Fooling the Iron Fish: The Inside Story of Marine Camouflage” in Everybody’s Magazine (November 1919), pp. Everett Warner ( July 16, 1877 – October 20, 1963) was an American Impressionist painter and Printmaker, who 102-109.

Notes

External links

• Roy R. Behrens, "The Thinking Eye: a Chronology of Camouflage" 2006
• "An informal study into camouflage"