A ballistic tongue as long as its body, independently moving eyes capable of 360° vision and claws perfectly adapted to surviving in an arboreal habitat; these are the features that constitute the spectacle that is the chameleon. But the most astonishing feature is surely the capability to instantly transform its appearance. Whether in response to its environment or for use in communication, the chameleon’s ability to change colour is a skill boasted by only a few other species in the animal kingdom.
Located in the dermis and epidermis is the cell responsible for the chameleon’s famed super-power: the chromatophore. Chromatophores are specialised cells that contain pigments in their cytoplasm. These pigments produce colours by reflecting and absorbing wavelengths of light. A chameleon has three types of chromatophores, which are arranged in layers and which each produce different colours. Melanophores lie deepest in the skin and contain black pigments, iridophores found…
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