#camouflage

#camouflage

Secret Lives of Baby Octopuses: They Develop Temporary Structures of Unknown Function Called the Kölliker’s organs that Look Like Tiny Brooms on Their SkinExperts from the Mesoscopic Imaging Facility (MIF) at EMBL Barcelona studied a unique feature found in octopuses called the Kölliker’s organs. These organs are present on the skin of baby octopuses, but they disappear once the soft-bodied cephalopods reach their adult stage. To learn about the function of these temporary structures, the MIF examined specimens of hatchlings and juveniles of Octopus vulgaris, or common octopus.Roger Villanueva, the lead researcher in the study, described the unique organs as “mini brooms on the surface of the baby octopuses.” After a long period of observation, researchers noted that Kölliker’s organs were roughly the same size and were evenly distributed on the skin. As for the function of these organs, Villanueva stated that the “organs could be used by the young octopuses to increase their surface-to-volume ratio.” He also added that ““The distribution of these organs on the surface of the arms, head, and mantle of the octopus and their ability to refract light in two directions suggest that they might also have a role in camouflage.”#Octopus #KollikerOrgans #Camouflage #Animals image credit: Roger Villanueva/ICM-CSIC

Stonefish Hiding in the SandHiroyuki Kasuga of Southern Islander Dive Tours uploaded this video clip where a diver saw a strange face in the sand.That turned out to be a species of stonefish (Synanceia), which often buries itself in the sand on the seabed, leaving just its eyes and mouth visible. The stonefish's mottled colorations complete the camouflage - it's very difficult to spot a hidden stonefish!Stonefish are the most venomous fish known to man. Its venom contains potent neurotoxins secreted from glands at the base of their dorsal fins. Their penchant for burying themselves in the sand often results in swimmers accidentally stepping on them, and getting stung. Stonefish stings are extremely painful and, if left untreated, can be fatal.#stonefish #sand #camouflage

Chameleon-Bot with Artificial Skin Changes Color in Real TimeResearchers are one step closer to creating an "invisibility cloak" through active camouflage.Seung Hwan Ko of Seoul National University and colleagues have created a chameleon-inspired robot with thermochromic liquid crystal in its skin. The crystals change color in response to changing temperature, and take on different shades of green, red, and blue at specific temperatures.Below the outer skin layer, Ko and his team wired up stacks of transparent polyimide film coated with silver nanowires that heat up when an electric current passes through them.As a sensor below the chameleon-bot notices the change in background color and signals the heating element to heat up or cool down to the requisite temperature to cause the color change.#chameleon #camouflage #activecamouflage #thermochromicliquidcrystal #SeoulNationalUniversity #chameleonbot #artificialskinVideo and images: Seung Hwan Ko et al.

Great Grey Owl Perfectly Camouflages ItselfJames S. Batuigas is a 45-year-old photographer who loves to go out and enjoy nature. One day, he decided to look for the great grey owl. He drove for about five hours by car to his favorite wildlife spot in British Columbia. Batuigas arrived by the forest road at around noon time — an ideal time to search for these birds as they rested at noon. Driving by the forest road, the amateur photographer scanned every tree that he could see. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he saw some kind of movement in a tree trunk. It was what he was looking for. It was the great grey owl. The owl was perfectly camouflaged on the tree bark, probably scanning the environment for its prey.“If the owl didn't look at me, I would have missed it,” said Batuigas about the owl hiding in plain sight.People were thrilled to see the picture, and commented about the owl’s amazing stealth. Others congratulated Batuigas for spotting the elusive owl.I’d be scared if I was the bird’s prey.(Image Credit: @edseljamesbatuigas via Instagram)#Photography #Camouflage #Owl #Stealth

There Are Two Leopards in This Photo - Can You Spot the Leopard Cub?There are two leopards in this photo by wildlife photographer Mohan Thomas, and it was easy enough to see the mother leopard. But can you see spot the leopard cub?There's already a really big hint in the pic - you can see the cub's tail easy enough, but where is its face? Give up? Here's the solution.#camouflage #leopard #spot #HiddenAnimal #wildlifephotography

Kit 300: New Camouflage Tech Lets Soldiers Hide as Rock BouldersThere's a soldier in the photo above - can you spot him? Well, it's not that hard given that there's a binocular right in the middle of that rock formation ... which is obviously not a rock.Instead, it's a camouflage sheet called Kit 300 made by Polaris Solutions, an Israeli company specializing in making survival products. Developed in partnership with Israel's Ministry of Defense, the Kit 300 camouflage is made of thermal visual concealment material that combines microfibers, metals and polymers that camouflage a soldier both from visual and thermal scans.Images: Maya Margit and the Israeli Ministry of Defense#camouflage #soldier #rock