Why Do Chameleons Change Their Colors?

Interesting Facts About Chameleon

Through idioms and similes, you can often hear people questioning someone's loyalty and behavior by saying that he changes his color like a chameleon

Basically, it is a Hindi idiom that is pronounced as "गिरगिट की तरह रंग बदलना"

Everyone has heard about a creature named "chameleon", which keeps changing its color, behind which there might be two reasons: natural and scientific

If a natural cause is observed, the chameleon changes its color to protect itself from predators. The chameleon adapts its color to the same color where it is sitting

Talking about scientific reason, chameleons change their color to convey their different emotions like their anger, aggression and sending signals to each other

The male chameleon even changes its color to attract the female partner. Sometimes they also change color to maintain their body temperature

Different layers exist in its skin. Its outermost layer is transparent and below it, other layers contain pigments called chromatophores, containing light-reflecting cells

The chromatophores at each level are filled with sacs of different kinds of pigment, named xanthophores, erythrophores, iridophores, and melanophores

Chameleons change their color by changing or rearranging the lattice of nanocrystals present in the upper layer of the skin cells

These cells are of small crystals which are made of guanine. With the help of the pigments in the skin, chameleon wears different colors according to its needs

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