Photographer wildlife Alex Hyde took years of scientific training to learn how to find animals that would not really like to be found. Alex is not averse to more more people took a look at this amazing ability some animals camouflage themselves.
Alex Hyde, lecturer in biological photography at the University of Nottingham, travels through the jungles of Madagascar, putting his knowledge of zoology to the test.

1. In this image, we see a leaf-tailed gecko hiding on an ivy-covered tree trunk in the jungles of the Masoala Peninsula National Park, northeast Madagascar.

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

3. And this is a frog from rainforest Andasibe-Mantadia National Park in Madagascar. Alex Hyde says: “I can't stop being amazed at how cleverly they manage to disguise themselves. To be able to photograph such an animal, one must clearly know in what places it prefers to hide, in different time days and under various conditions.

4. “The leaf-tailed gecko is perfectly camouflaged against the backdrop of a tree trunk. Moreover, not only the color of the gecko's skin, but also its texture is distinguished by a striking resemblance to the 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 fight for survival is getting tougher as the jungles of Madagascar are cleared for timber production. While the island off the coast of Africa remained untouched, it was covered by forests by about 90%. 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 camouflaged among fallen leaves in the Masaola Peninsula National Park.

7. Most of all, Alex is captivated by his work in Britain, at the University of Nottingham. “The UK also has a lot to brag about when it comes to natural history,” says Alex. An ordinary fish masquerades as a rocky bottom of a pond on the Isle of Mull, Scotland.

8. Malaysian orchid mantis hides in a flower in anticipation of some unlucky midge.

9. Striped leaf-tailed gecko sits on dry palm leaves during a night hunt.

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

Hunters and victims constantly compete in a 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 the victims. But mimicry also allows hunters to wait for the victim, not to frighten it off in advance, which means to survive on their own. Many animals have such abilities, but there are also recognized masters among them, some of which we will talk about.

1 Seahorse

More than 10 million years ago, the igloo fish underwent a dramatic change that resulted in the seahorse. He settled in shallow water among algae. Special mobility was not required from the fish, but like everyone else in nature, the skates had enemies and had prey. Now various species reach 2-30 cm in length, usually located among algae and corals, attaching with a dexterous tail and hanging in the water column. At the same time, the body of the skate is covered with many growths that allow you to merge with the environment, they are even able to change color. Such mimicry hides skates from predators and from food (crustaceans and shrimps). And these masters have interesting way breeding - they have a "pregnant" male, who has a special bag on his stomach, very similar in function to the female uterus.

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

2. Flat-tailed Madagascar geckos

Finding these animals is almost impossible. They live in Madagascar, on the branches of trees, where they hunt insects. The gecko has no means of defense other than his art of disguise. Studies show that geckos not only change color like chameleons, they are also covered with skin flaps and growths to completely mimic the mosses and lichens on trees, as well as the bark of branches. Due to their ethereal appearance, these little forest spirits are very popular with terrarium lovers, which is one of the factors in their disappearance in the wild.

3. Giant white-legged

Owl nightjars from Australia have nothing to do with 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 an owl) paws. All these differences are due to the fact that nightjars feed on insects, only occasionally they can catch a toad or a small rodent. Moreover, they hunt from an ambush, sitting on a tree on victims flying past. And they hide from danger simply by freezing and stretching out with their whole body. And it helps - after all, these masters of mimicry have an excellent patronizing coloration. It is enough for a gigantic white-legged to simply snuggle up to a tree trunk, and it will be almost impossible to find it.

4. Stone fish

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

5. Chameleon

Chameleons are perhaps the most famous and popular masters of disguise. Everyone knows about their ability to change colors and hunt prey with a long sticky tongue. But it turns out that the range of color change for all chameleons is different, the colors do not change instantly. Coloring allows not only 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 vice versa, about pregnancy. At the same time, young animals usually have the same color as females and only acquire characteristic colors with age. But the protective properties various kinds chameleons are strictly focused on the habitat and available predators.

6. Cuttlefish

Cuttlefish are ancient and very intelligent molluscs. They have the highest ratio of brain weight to body weight. The thallus of the cuttlefish is covered with millions of chromatophores, two hundred for every centimeter of skin. These cells allow her to change color 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 mimic 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:

The 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, spiked forelimbs and very bright colors, allowing you 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 "praying mantis".

Despite such an unusual appearance, praying mantises are excellent camouflage.

For example, the "devil flower" praying mantis imitates one of the subspecies of orchids with its coloring. Hiding on a branch under a flower, the praying mantis waits for the victim. A bug that appeared near, with lightning speed, is captured by powerful claws. "Devil's Flower" is one of the most large species praying mantis, females can reach 13 cm in length. Therefore, larger prey - a lizard or a bird - can also get to them for lunch.

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

It also differs in 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 color and there are even veins on the back. So from autumn leaf it is simply indistinguishable.

Coloring orchid praying mantis 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 where the insect is and where the real orchid is.

Master of mimicry in the world of fauna

First letter "x"

Second letter "a"

Third letter "m"

The last beech is the letter "n"

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

Alternative questions in crossword puzzles for the word chameleon

The nickname of glasses that changes color depending on the lighting

"Multicolor" lizard

Tree lizard that can change color

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

fickle lizard

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

Word definitions for chameleon in dictionaries

Big Soviet Encyclopedia The meaning of the word in the dictionary Great Soviet Encyclopedia
(lat. Chamaeleon), a constellation located near South Pole peace; contains no stars brighter than 4.0 visual magnitude. It is not visible on the territory of the USSR. See the starry sky.

Wikipedia The meaning of the word in the Wikipedia dictionary
Chameleon: Chameleons are a family of lizards. Chameleon - constellation southern hemisphere sky. Chameleon is a 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 that has the ability to change the color of its skin when irritated, change color 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 the literature.

With the swiftness of his transformations, he left behind even chameleon: besides, the chameleon, as they say, is able to take on any color except white, while Alcibiades, whether he saw good or bad examples 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 drank deeply, in Thessaly he did not get off his horse, at the court of the satrap Tissaphernes in luxury, arrogance and splendor was not inferior even to the Persians, and not that he without the slightest effort changed the real failure nature and was transformed in any way in the soul, not at all, but when he noticed that, following his inclinations, he risked causing 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 await her on the way.

There were lizard skins dried in the sun, drupes of an incomprehensible 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 flasks filled with snakes, eels, and snakes, and exorbitant scales, most likely whale scales, a sword, apparently taken from the snout of a fish, and a long horn, according to Robert a unicorn, but I am inclined to think that it was taken from a nerve.

Chameleon let out a scream that made people's ears droop, the crocodiles tried to dive together, and the small pseudosaur fell again.

Until now, baronga and ngoni hate chameleon because he brought death to people by his slowness.