1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,640 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hey, 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:09,600 Speaker 1: brain Stuff, I'm Lauren bog Obama. And Chameleons have built 3 00:00:09,640 --> 00:00:13,600 Speaker 1: a pretty solid reputation on two commonly held beliefs, that 4 00:00:13,720 --> 00:00:16,840 Speaker 1: they can stealthily blend into their surroundings and that they 5 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: are the ideal subjects for iconic eighties anthems. But it 6 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,400 Speaker 1: turns out that one of those supposed facts isn't quite right. 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:27,520 Speaker 1: In fact, everything you think you know about chameleons and 8 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:32,199 Speaker 1: their color changing capabilities is probably backward. We spoke with 9 00:00:32,280 --> 00:00:35,800 Speaker 1: Daniel Flynn, marketing manager for the Conservation Society of California 10 00:00:35,880 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 1: at the Oakland Zoo. He said the color changing properties 11 00:00:39,560 --> 00:00:42,480 Speaker 1: of chameleons don't really help them blend in, but rather 12 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:45,400 Speaker 1: their natural relaxed state is what helps them blend in. 13 00:00:45,880 --> 00:00:49,320 Speaker 1: The expression blending in like a chameleon isn't entirely accurate, 14 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: meaning these lizards don't change their appearance to fit in, 15 00:00:52,479 --> 00:00:57,840 Speaker 1: but rather to stand out. Scientists Long believes the chameleons 16 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,400 Speaker 1: change their coloring similarly to the way to puss a 17 00:01:00,480 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 1: switch shades, which is by stretching and contracting a series 18 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:07,000 Speaker 1: of special cells under their skin that contain pigments, thus 19 00:01:07,080 --> 00:01:11,440 Speaker 1: making the color more or less pronounced. But biologists and 20 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:15,120 Speaker 1: physicists somewhat recently realized that something else entirely is going 21 00:01:15,160 --> 00:01:18,800 Speaker 1: on with chameleons. They have crystal like cells under their 22 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,759 Speaker 1: skin that refract light. They're called aritophores, and these cells 23 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:27,240 Speaker 1: go through structural changes to produce different effects. Flynn explained 24 00:01:27,280 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: that when anything agitates or exhilarates the chameleon, that's when 25 00:01:30,319 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: things get colorful. He said, when they get excited, feel threatened, 26 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:37,640 Speaker 1: or want to display positively towards a mate or negatively 27 00:01:37,680 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: to arrival, the crystals separate or compress and give off 28 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:45,679 Speaker 1: the appearance of different colors. In a twenty fifteen study 29 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 1: published in the journal Nature Communications, researchers with the University 30 00:01:49,040 --> 00:01:52,120 Speaker 1: of Geneva in Switzerland revealed that a ritophores act like 31 00:01:52,200 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 1: tiny mirrors that selectively reflect and absorb different colors. While 32 00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:59,600 Speaker 1: a lot of animals have color patterns, birds and fish, 33 00:01:59,600 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 1: for example, the cells that make their vibrant displays possible 34 00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:07,040 Speaker 1: typically absorb or reflect certain regions of the visible light spectrum. 35 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: Each cell has its specialty. Chameleon cells are different. Aritophores 36 00:02:12,280 --> 00:02:14,960 Speaker 1: can actually absorb or reflect any and all colors of 37 00:02:14,960 --> 00:02:19,720 Speaker 1: the spectrum. Flynn said some species change more colors than others. 38 00:02:19,760 --> 00:02:22,760 Speaker 1: For example, some will change shades lighter to darker, while 39 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:26,040 Speaker 1: others change to more vibrant, bright colors. There are quite 40 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:28,639 Speaker 1: a few species, so there's a lot of variants among 41 00:02:28,639 --> 00:02:31,000 Speaker 1: all of them. They can change all different types of colors, 42 00:02:31,160 --> 00:02:34,880 Speaker 1: even colors that aren't visible to the human eye. When 43 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,160 Speaker 1: a chameleon's mood changes, its nervous system activates the cells 44 00:02:38,200 --> 00:02:41,840 Speaker 1: to contract or expand. When the animal is relaxed, the 45 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,560 Speaker 1: cells stay close together and reflect short wavelengths like blue. 46 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:49,440 Speaker 1: A rush of excitement pushes those cells further apart, enabling 47 00:02:49,440 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: each aritophor to reflect longer wavelengths like red, orange, and yellow. 48 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,320 Speaker 1: But if the naturally relaxed cells reflect blue, y are 49 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:02,280 Speaker 1: chilled out. Chameleons typically green like their surroundings. This has 50 00:03:02,360 --> 00:03:07,240 Speaker 1: to do with pigment sacks inside the aritophores, Flynn explained. Basically, 51 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:10,320 Speaker 1: when a chameleon is relaxed, they're naturally visible is green 52 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:12,920 Speaker 1: to help them camouflage with the green leaves and trees. 53 00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:16,280 Speaker 1: This is due to the natural yellow pigment combined with 54 00:03:16,320 --> 00:03:19,040 Speaker 1: a relaxed state of the crystal cells, which reflect blue light. 55 00:03:19,360 --> 00:03:23,000 Speaker 1: Blue plus yellow equals green. It may not be easy 56 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,679 Speaker 1: being green, but it's necessary for the chameleon, which has 57 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,200 Speaker 1: no real defenses, Blending in is its best bet against predators. 58 00:03:30,720 --> 00:03:33,120 Speaker 1: So if the color changes are due to special cells 59 00:03:33,240 --> 00:03:36,840 Speaker 1: under the skin, why are the effects external. The outermost 60 00:03:36,920 --> 00:03:40,200 Speaker 1: layer of the chameleon skin is actually transparent. Beneath that 61 00:03:40,240 --> 00:03:43,120 Speaker 1: outer layer lies several more layers containing a variety of 62 00:03:43,160 --> 00:03:47,320 Speaker 1: specialized skills, including the blue and white light reflecting aritophores. 63 00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:50,560 Speaker 1: What's really wild is if the chameleon needs a dramatic 64 00:03:50,600 --> 00:03:52,560 Speaker 1: quick change, like when it's trying to show off for 65 00:03:52,560 --> 00:03:55,480 Speaker 1: a potential mate, it can quickly shed its outer layers 66 00:03:55,520 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 1: of skin to expose the aritophores to direct sunlight in 67 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: a hurry. There's not a ton of research to support 68 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:05,480 Speaker 1: it yet, but some scientists believe chameleons color changing abilities 69 00:04:05,720 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: also allow them to regulate their body temperature. A study 70 00:04:09,400 --> 00:04:12,520 Speaker 1: demonstrated the bearded dragons alter their hue based on their 71 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:16,200 Speaker 1: body temperature, and since chameleons are ectotherms and can't retain 72 00:04:16,240 --> 00:04:20,440 Speaker 1: body heat, hence their stereotypical sunbathing. It's possible that maintaining 73 00:04:20,440 --> 00:04:23,480 Speaker 1: a dark color allows them to absorb more light and heat. 74 00:04:28,720 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Michelle kumb Stantardowski and produced 75 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:33,840 Speaker 1: by Tyler Clang. Brain Stuff is a production that I 76 00:04:33,920 --> 00:04:36,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio's How Stuff Works. For more on this and 77 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:38,520 Speaker 1: lots of other colorful topics, visit our home planet has 78 00:04:38,520 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 1: Stuff Works dot com, and for more podcasts for our 79 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or 80 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:45,680 Speaker 1: wherever you listen to your favorite shows.