The chameleon has long been known as the undercover master, with his ability to change skin color according to the circumstances surrounding him. The chameleon camouflage ability attracts scientists to research the animal. Among the questions about chameleons, there is one unique and intriguing: what color is the chameleon if it is in a room full of mirrors?
Male chameleon. "The color of chameleons is not just for camouflage," says Eli Greenbaum, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of Texas in El Paso. The color also changes with changes in temperature or emotion. Male chameleons become emotional when they see other males who have the potential to be rivals in the habitat or in the seizure of females.
"Male chameleons, in many cases, will change color in an instant as a response when it sees other males, including when looking at the reflection of its reflection in the mirror," said Daniel F. Hughes, researcher at the Greenbaum lab. Male chameleons that see "rivals" in the mirror will change color from green to yellow, orange, or even red. So says Michel C. Milinkovitch, a biophysicist at the University of Geneva.
How does the chameleon skin change color?
Scientists think that pigment-carrying cells on the chameleon skin surface control the color change. While the space between the nanocrystal in another layer of skin serves to reflect light differently.
When the chameleon is in quiet condition, the nanocrystals are close together and reflect the blue and green colors, which make the reptile skin tone green.
When disturbed, the space between nanocrystals extends. This causes more light with larger wavelengths, such as bright red and orange to be reflected, and makes it look conspicuous to competitors.
The defeated will change color becomes darker, which can be interpreted as "Please leave me alone", according to a study conducted by a team of scientists at Arizona State University. This is an important ability, given that these slow reptiles will find it difficult to escape.
Female chameleon
So, what happens if a female chameleon is placed in a room full of mirrors?
"Female chameleons change skin color to communicate their sexual status to males," Hughes said. Female Mediterranean chameleons, for example, feature a yellow color as a reception signal for mating invitation, according to a 1998 study.
The female chameleon's social signal may be less because they choose, while the males compete to be eligible.
When the female chameleon stares at the reflection of herself, the reaction may be more subtle than the male's reaction.
"The female-to-female communication in chameleons is generally not well understood, and may appear less obvious when compared to male-to-male communication," Hughes concluded.