Octopus: mad camo skillz (vid)

[Jack & Coke]

http://media.ebaumsworld.com/octopus.wmv

Man... I wish my paintball jersey could do that!

[Nexus]

That would be pretty cool. Although, people would still probably find something about it they didn't like. Maybe "it's not energy-efficient" or "Empire made a better version of it."

[Will Wood]

Woah, that's really cool.
Does that work for only that plant (is it just like shriveling itself up? or can it do that for anything.

[Hasty8]

That's gotta be photshopped!

I know alot of animals have camo capabilities but that's just insane!

I saw something a while back about these interesting clothes a japanese firm is making. somehow, small cameras in the clothing puts the image of what it sees on the other side of the wearer, sorta like the Predator's camo.

Once that goes public....watch out!

[MrWallen]

No, it's real, and it works on pretty much everything, learned about it in Marine Bio a few years ago. It not only changes color but it can change the texture of its skin too.

[AGD202]

thats insane! ...stuck here speechless...

[SAW]

No, it's real, and it works on pretty much everything, learned about it in Marine Bio a few years ago. It not only changes color but it can change the texture of its skin too.

Does it become transparent, and allow the background to fade through or just change color?

[MrWallen]

Does it become transparent, and allow the background to fade through or just change color?

No, it actually changes color. I forget all the biological factors involved, but, if I remember correctly, essentially it "scans" the surface under it and projects it over it's skin. In the same way it scans the texture and attempts to imitate it as well.
Also, it is an instinctual ability, the octopus can't control what color it changes, it just knows "I want to blend in now" and so it happens.

[fire1811]

phht thats nothing I could do better

[SAW]

No, it actually changes color. I forget all the biological factors involved, but, if I remember correctly, essentially it "scans" the surface under it and projects it over it's skin. In the same way it scans the texture and attempts to imitate it as well.
Also, it is an instinctual ability, the octopus can't control what color it changes, it just knows "I want to blend in now" and so it happens.

Wow. That's cool stuff....

[SlipknotX556]

If only I had my Marine Biology book, I could give a detailed description of how it does it.

[MrWallen]

If only I had my Marine Biology book, I could give a detailed description of how it does it.

If only we had some sort of enormous database where we could search for such things...oh, what's that? Google??? Ohhhhhh
EDIT: Not trying to make fun of/sound mean at all, just in case it came off that way

Squid, octopuses, and cuttlefish (cephalopods) can change their skin color to match their surroundings and/or to reflect their mood. They possess specialized color pigment cells called chromatophores. Each chromatophore contains three colors which can blend in a variety of ways. Cephalopods can change color rapidly. That is because the color change is controlled by their nervous system. In many other animals, color change is controlled by hormones and takes a longer time to occur. In addition to rapid color changes, many cephalopods can alter their skin texture to closely match the texture of an irregular background. Specialized muscles enable them to do this.

[Tim 3]

thats preety cool!

[SlipknotX556]

If only we had some sort of enormous database where we could search for such things...oh, what's that? Google??? Ohhhhhh
EDIT: Not trying to make fun of/sound mean at all, just in case it came off that way

I hate google, I wanted to sound important.

[wanna-b-ballin']

i dunno about that video...
i've seen other short videos of octopuses changeing color and stuff, and they do a good job; and if you look carefully, you can still see the octopus.
but in this video, the octopus actually changed into the plant; not just color change. i think it was photoshopped.