popsealife:

3D Camo

Those things growing out of this giant Australian cuttlefish (Sepia apama) are its skin papillae. It can extend and retract its papillae at will, helping it alter its texture to better blend in with its surroundings.

Both papillae expression and color change are controlled by visual, not tactile, cues. This means that these guys don’t need to actually touch anything to decide on their camouflage strategy.

Just by looking, they are clever enough to decide what sort of color, pattern, and texture is needed to virtually disappear. 

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Video source: Roger Hanlon on Youtube

References: Allen et al. 2009.

                 Hanlon. 2007.