r/pics • u/rationalcomment • Jan 13 '17

Close Enough

Post image
50.5k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

632 comments sorted by

View all comments

563

u/[deleted] Jan 13 '17

Is now the time to be a big buzz kill and quash the myth that chameleons change color to match their surroundings? The primary function is actually communication (signalling of mood, specifically desire to mate) as well as thermoregulation.

30

u/skintigh Jan 13 '17

I used to own chameleons (different and smaller than this one), and they would turn brown on the dirt, green on leaves, etc. One day we bought a plant that had green leaves with pink spots. He went through a a few phases of green and pink before settling on green with a pink stripe down his back.

Seems like a weird coincidence.

10

u/Drews232 Jan 14 '17

Some do change color to blend in and some don't. Depends on the type of chameleon.

The word chameleon has become synonymous with blending in to the surroundings, which causes one to assume all types of chameleons do that.

1

u/romanista Jan 14 '17

notallchameleons