Chameleon Chromatics: How They Change Color and Why

Chameleons dont change their color for camouflage, as most people think. They cant perfectly match your crazy pink curtains or blend into your blue couch. As much as Pascal from Disneys Tangled might change his colors on whim, alas, that is fiction for real chameleons, although their skin color does serve some camouflaging purposes.

Chameleons, as recent research has found, change color for two main reasonsto communicate and to control their temperature.

Animals have evolved different ways to communicate with one another. Humans primarily use language, fireflies use light, and chameleons use color. The chameleons color change can indicate its mood. An angry chameleon will have a darker color, whereas a chameleon in a relaxed mood will have a lighter color.