The rules of the animal world do not tolerate weakness. If you are not born a large predator, then you will have to constantly improve various cunning defense mechanisms, otherwise, sooner or later, those who are higher in the food chain will devour you. Masking skills are also necessary for predators, so that they can get as close as possible to their prey. Let's look at a few creatures whose mimicry abilities are admirable.
1. Clown fish
Clown fish (lat. Antennariidae) should not be confused with clown fish (lat. Amphiprion), which are well known to us after the release of the animated film "Finding Nemo". These fish belong to the order of the angler fish or, as they are often called, sea devils. Only clown fish, unlike their relatives, live in shallow water among the coral reefs, and not at great depth in pitch darkness. The clown family includes more than 165 species of fish, most of which resort to camouflaging as corals, plants and other harmless objects. As soon as small fishes swim past them, the predator rushes at them and literally sucks into itself.
2. Orchid praying mantis
Orchid mantises (lat. Hymenopus coronatus) were named for their unusual color, thanks to which these insects become like flowers of orchids. This feature of them often misleads other insects, for which they pay with their lives. By the way, these insects are able to change the color of their color from bright pink to dark brown, depending on the environment. You can meet amazing mantis in the tropical forests of India and Indonesia.
3. Leaf-tailed gecko
Leaf-tailed or flat-tailed geckos (lat. Uroplatus sikorae) inhabit the forests of Madagascar and adjacent islands. Individuals of this species are found in colors ranging from green to brown, which allows them to perfectly hide among the foliage of the trees. They also remain invisible on tree bark or on the surface of almost any moss. These reptiles feed on small insects, which sometimes do not even realize that they have landed on another living creature, and not on an ordinary leaf of a tree. By the way, for the fact that the eyes of leaf-tailed geckos are often red hues, they are also called "satanic geckos."
4. Octopus
Octopuses or octopuses (Latin Octopoda) are familiar to all, without exception. Besides the fact that these amazing creatures are able to release an ink cloud in the face of enemies, they are also able to very effectively change their color depending on the color of the objects around them. Check out this amazing video in which it’s almost impossible to see an octopus that blends perfectly with the underwater landscape:
5. Herdsiliid Spider
Spiders of this family (Latin Hersiliidae) inhabit the tropics and subtropics. Due to the color of these spiders, it is almost impossible to see on the bark of trees or on the ground. And for greatly enlarged spinning glands, these insects are also called "two-tailed spiders." There are approximately 167 species of such spiders on the planet, which are combined into 15 separate genera.
6. Leaf butterfly
An amazing butterfly leaflet (Latin Kallima) reaches 6-8 centimeters in wingspan. When its wings are folded, not a single predator can distinguish it from the usual dried leaf. You can meet these masters of disguise in Southeast Asia, Africa and India.
7. Chameleon
Chameleon (Latin Chamaeleonidae) - this is another master of mimicry, about the abilities of which almost everyone knows. The skin of this lizard is pierced with special branched cells - chromatophores. These cells contain grains of various pigments of black, dark brown, red and yellow colors. With the reduction of the processes of chromatophores, these grains are redistributed in such a way that the color of the surface of the chameleon's skin changes. Skillfully manipulating their ability, chameleons can achieve the effect of complete dissolution in their environment.
8. Tree frog
Tree frogs from the family of frogs (Latin Hyla) live exclusively in clean waters. They live in warm parts of Europe, in eastern Asia, northwestern Africa and North America. The genus of these frogs consists of 35 species, some of which, for example, mutable frogs (Latin Hyla versicolor), are capable of amazing fusion with the surrounding nature. When the frog sits on the foliage, it acquires a green tint, and as soon as it turns out on the bark of the tree, it immediately changes its color to the most suitable for a new environment.
9. moth
The moths of the moth family (lat. Geometridae), also known by the people as moths or surveyors, are very skillfully camouflaged on virtually any natural surface. In total, scientists have about 23,000 different species of this insect. Surely you have come across them in your life. These creatures mostly fly at night, but there are also day moths. In Russia, you can find about 800 species of this insect.
10. Asian paralicht
This fish is also known as false halibut (Latin Paralichthys olivaceus). It is surprising that both her eyes are located only on one side of her body, that is, on the bottom side, this bottom fish is absolutely blind. Nevertheless, this engineering lack of her physiology is fully compensated by all the necessary skills for professional camouflage on the seabed. In Russian waters, this fish is found in Peter the Great Bay, located in the Sea of Japan off the coast of Primorsky Krai.
Modern scientists are carefully studying the features of mimicry of many representatives of the animal world, because all these useful skills can be applied in military developments. The amazing world of wildlife continues to surprise us again and again, when, it would seem, we have already seen almost everything. And this is simply wonderful, agree? So much new and incredible can be found in the world where we live, if you only look closely.
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