The art of color changing in cephalopods: Exploring the science behind their coloration pattern
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24215/23143991e004Keywords:
octopus, cuttlefish, squid, mimicry, chromatophoresAbstract
Cephalopods are marine invertebrates with a great ability to dynamically alter their appearance and create elaborate patterns of coloration and texture. Their skin has a complex organization with multiple layers, and it is there where the specialized cells in charge of producing color patterns are found: chromatophores, iridophores and leucophores. The performance of these cells is associated with the central nervous system, which integrates all the available visual information (brightness, contrast, edges, etc.) with the exception of the colors since this group of animals cannot distinguish them because they only have one visual pigment. The ecological meaning of such a wide repertoire of body patterns is mainly hunting and defense against predators, by allowing the cephalopods to blend in with their environment, and the communication or intraspecific signaling, since the exhibition of specific patterns has been observed in events such as courtship. Although much is known about the mechanisms associated with body patterns, understanding the processes underlying their display is what needs to be delved into, because it is a field in which there are still many advances and discoveries to be made.
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