Instead of blending in with the background, octopuses hide from predators by taking on the shape and color of specific objects in their environment, new research suggests.
"Octopuses are considered to be the master of camouflage. An octopus can change its color, pattern and texture of its skin in an instant," study researcher Noam Josef, of Ben-Gurion University in Israel, told LiveScience.
"By reproducing key features of well-chosen objects, the octopus can produce an effective camouflage that may fool a wide range of potential predators," Josef and colleagues write online today (May 23) in the journal PLoS ONE.
There are a few different ways that animals use camouflage to hide. Some adopt the color or texture of their surroundings, taking in the environment as a whole like, say, a mouse that evolves to have a lighter color because it lives on the beach.
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