For the photographer wildlife It took Alex Hyde years of scientific training to learn how to find animals that didn't really want to be found. Alex wouldn't mind more more people took a look at this amazing ability of some animals to camouflage.
Alex Hyde, a lecturer in biological photography at the University of Nottingham, travels through the jungles of Madagascar to test his knowledge of zoology.

1. In this photo we see a leaf-tailed gecko hiding on an ivy-covered tree trunk in the jungle of the national park on the Masoala Peninsula, in northeastern Madagascar.

2. A spider with long legs camouflaged itself on the bark of a tree, waiting in ambush for prey. The photo was also taken in national park Masoals.

3. And this is a frog from tropical forests Andasibe-Mantadia National Park in Madagascar. Alex Hyde says: “I never cease to be amazed at how cleverly they manage to disguise themselves. To be able to photograph such an animal, you need to clearly know in what places it prefers to hide, in different time days and under different conditions."

4. “The leaf-tailed gecko was perfectly camouflaged against the background of a tree trunk. Moreover, not only the color of the gecko’s skin, but also its texture is strikingly similar to bark. If they didn’t have the ability to hide so well, they would have been caught by predators a long time ago, destroying the entire population.”

5. The struggle for survival becomes more severe as the jungles of Madagascar are cut down for timber production. While the island off the coast of Africa remained untouched, it was approximately 90% forested. Now only 7%. This frog is called Platepelis grandis. As we can see, its habitat is thick moss.

6. Over the past half century, Madagascar has lost most of its forests. Legally protected forest areas account for barely 2% of total area islands, and most of the jungle is still in danger. A stump-tailed chameleon camouflages itself among leaf litter in Masaola Peninsula National Park.

7. What excites Alex most is his work in Britain, at the University of Nottingham. “The UK also has something to brag about when it comes to the history of natural history,” says Alex. A common fish camouflages itself under the rocky bottom of a pond on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.

8. The Malaysian orchid mantis hides in a flower, waiting for some unlucky midge.

9. A striped leaf-tailed gecko sits on dry palm leaves while hunting at night.

10. “If people looked into the grass under their feet from time to time, they would be surprised to find out how many living creatures live there.

Master of mimicry in the world of fauna

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Answer for the question "Master of mimicry in the world of fauna", 8 letters:
chameleon

Alternative crossword questions for the word chameleon

Nickname for glasses that change color depending on the light

"Multicolor" lizard

Tree lizard capable of changing color

Lizard, famous for that that its color can vary greatly depending on lighting and external conditions

Changeable lizard

For us, this animal is a symbol of cunning and opportunism, and Africans consider it a symbol of calm and slowness necessary to achieve a goal.

Definition of the word chameleon in dictionaries

Big Soviet Encyclopedia The meaning of the word in the dictionary Great Soviet Encyclopedia
(lat. Chamaeleon), constellation located near South Pole peace; does not contain stars brighter than visual magnitude 4.0. Not visible on the territory of the USSR. See starry sky.

Wikipedia Meaning of the word in the Wikipedia dictionary
Chameleon: Chameleons are a family of lizards. Chameleon - constellation southern hemisphere sky. Chameleon - hypothetical elementary particle. Chameleon glasses are a type of glasses. Chameleon - Russian musical group. Chameleon is a Russian rapper, better known...

Dictionary Russian language. D.N. Ushakov The meaning of the word in the dictionary Explanatory Dictionary of the Russian Language. D.N. Ushakov
chameleon, m. (Greek hamaileon). A reptile with the ability to change its color skin with irritation, color change environment etc. (zool.). trans. About a person who easily and often changes his opinions, views, sympathies (usually...

Examples of the use of the word chameleon in literature.

With the speed of his transformations, he left behind even chameleon: besides, the chameleon, as they say, is capable of taking on any color except white, while Alcibiades, whether he saw good examples or bad ones around, imitated both with equal ease: in Sparta he did not leave the gymnasium, was unpretentious and gloomy, in Ionia - pampered, voluptuous, careless, in Thrace he was a heavy drunk, in Thessaly he did not get off his horse, at the court of the satrap Tissaphernes in luxury, arrogance and pomp he was not inferior even to the Persians, and not that without the slightest effort he changed the true failure nature and was transformed in any way in his soul, far from it, but when he noticed that, following his inclinations, he risked causing the displeasure of those around him, he always hid behind any mask that could suit their taste.

Chameleon She even adapted to dozing on the filly’s back and began to warn Aimbri from the height of her position that potholes and potholes awaited her along the way.

There were lizard skins dried in the sun, drupes of unknown nature, multi-colored stones, shards licked by the sea, pieces of coral, insects nailed to tablets, a fly and a spider in amber, dry chameleon and bottles containing snakes, eels and grass snakes, as well as enormous scales, most likely whale scales, a sword, apparently taken from the snout of a fish, and long horn, according to Robert, a unicorn, but I am inclined to think that it was taken from a nerval.

Chameleon let out a scream that made people's ears wither, the crocodiles tried to dive together, and the little pseudosaurus fell again.

The Barong and Ngoni are still hated chameleon because he brought death to people with his slowness.

Owners of the most unusual, the most beautiful and at the same time the most terrible appearance in the world of insects are praying mantises: small triangular head, huge eyes, long claw-like, spiny forelimbs and very bright colors that allow them to hide in flowers and foliage. In addition, the front legs are bent in such a shape, as if the insect is praying - hence the name “mantis”.

Despite this unusual appearance, mantises are excellent camouflages.

For example, the “devil flower” mantis imitates one of the subspecies of orchids with its colors. Hiding on a branch under a flower, the praying mantis waits for its prey. A bug that appears nearby is grabbed with lightning speed by powerful pincers. "Devil's Flower" is one of the most large species praying mantises, females can reach 13 cm in length. Therefore, larger prey - a lizard or a bird - can come to them for lunch.

It also disguises itself as a flower. Unlike the "devil's flower", the African spiny mantis is very small in size - an adult reaches only 38 mm in height. But despite its small size, it has an excellent appetite and with age the mantis becomes more and more voracious.

Also different impressive size- 20 centimeters, but despite this, finding it on a branch is very problematic. Outwardly, it is very similar to a dried leaf - the same monotonous brown or gray and there are even veins on the back. So from autumn leaf it is simply indistinguishable.

Coloring orchid mantises varies from white to pink, sometimes these colors can be combined. Orchid, jasmine and papaya flowers are used for ambush. They hide so skillfully that it is difficult to distinguish which is an insect and which is a real orchid.

Hunters and prey are constantly competing deadly game– who will be the first to notice, who will be able to deceive? The ability to hide, pretend to be inedible or scary saves the lives of victims. But mimicry also allows hunters to wait for the prey, not to scare it away in advance, and therefore to survive. Many animals have such abilities, but among them there are also recognized masters, some of whom we will talk about.

1. Seahorse

More than 10 million years ago, the pipefish underwent dramatic changes that resulted in the creation of the seahorse. He settled in shallow water among algae. Special mobility was not required from the fish, but like everyone else in nature, skates had enemies and prey. Nowadays, various species reach 2-30 cm in length, are usually located among algae and corals, attached with a dexterous tail and hang in the water column. At the same time, the skate’s body is covered with many growths, allowing it to blend in with its surroundings; they are even capable of changing color. This mimicry hides the skates from predators and food (crustaceans and shrimp). And these masters also have most interesting way reproduction - they “get pregnant” by a male who has a special pouch on his stomach, very similar in function to the female uterus.

If you like these wonderful creatures and, while doing underwater photography, manage to find and photograph them, then do not forget to give your photographs to friends who do not have the opportunity to see them in person. To reproduce these photographs, choose only the highest quality equipment - a good MFP scanner, for example, will provide you with high-quality scanning of photographs, which you can then present to your loved ones. This useful device will also come in handy in many other life situations.

2. Madagascar flat-tailed geckos

It is almost impossible to detect these animals. They live in Madagascar, on tree branches, where they hunt insects. The gecko has no means of defense other than its art of camouflage. Research shows that geckos not only change color like chameleons, they are also covered with skin flaps and growths to completely imitate mosses and lichens on trees, as well as the bark of branches. Due to their ethereal appearance, these little forest spirits are very popular among terrarium hobbyists, which is one of the factors contributing to their extinction in the wild.

3. Gigantic whitefoot

Owljars from Australia are not related to owls. They are only similar in appearance. The differences between these groups of birds are significant - nightjars have weaker and lighter bones, long and weak (compared to the owl) legs. All these differences are due to the fact that nightjars feed on insects and can only occasionally catch a toad or small rodent. Moreover, they hunt from ambush, sitting on a tree for victims flying past. And they hide from danger by simply freezing and stretching out their whole body. And this helps - after all, these masters of mimicry have a wonderful patronizing connotation. It is enough for a gigantic whitefoot to simply cling to a tree trunk, and it will be almost impossible to find it.

4. Stone fish

Among the coral reefs you can come across very unpleasant stones. You can distinguish them from completely harmless fragments of coral only by a cold glance. This is a stone fish, which scientists call one of the most poisonous creatures of our planet. You can meet her in almost any corner Pacific Ocean. Of particular danger are the 13 spikes containing a neurotoxin that kills healthy person in a couple of hours. And we wrote about its culinary properties in the article

5. Chameleon

Chameleons are perhaps the most famous and popular masters of camouflage. Everyone knows about their ability to change colors and hunt prey with the help of a long sticky tongue. But it turns out that the range of color changes is different for all chameleons; colors do not change instantly. Coloring not only allows you to hide, it is also a way of communication. For example, in some species, the colors of females and males are very different; moreover, females use coloring to signal their readiness to mate or, conversely, pregnancy. At the same time, young animals usually have the same color as females and only acquire with age characteristic colors. And here protective properties various types Chameleons are strictly oriented towards their habitat and available predators.

6. Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish are ancient and very intelligent mollusks. They have the highest ratio of brain weight to body weight. The cuttlefish's body is covered with millions of chromatophores, two hundred for every centimeter of skin. These cells allow her to change coloring very quickly. Mimicry is used by these masters both for protection from predators and for hunting. Moreover, cuttlefish also have a system of muscles that help imitate the structure of corals and rocks. By the way, as in the case of chameleons, cuttlefish use a color communication system.

Continuing the theme of unusual animal adaptations: