Understanding Camouflage

1. An introduction
to
animal camouflage

2. Why camouflage?
Remember the four basic needs of animals:
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3. Why camouflage?
Remember the four basic needs of animals:
 Food
 Water
 Shelter
 Space
Animals need to find all of these things in
their habitats.

4. Why camouflage?
Camouflage helps animals to blend in with
their environment so that they can find what
they need and raise their young.

5. Have you seen camouflage?
Can you think of any examples of camouflage?
Write down at least two examples.

6. Four kinds of camouflage
One way to understand camouflage is to think
about four different kinds of camouflage:
•Cryptic coloration
•Disruptive coloration
•Mimicry
•Countershading

7. Four kinds of camouflage
One way to understand camouflage is to think
about four different kinds of camouflage:
•Cryptic coloration
•Disruptive coloration
•Mimicry
•Countershading

8. Cryptic coloration
Cryptic coloration is a kind of camouflage in
which animals try to blend in with the
background
Can you find the fiddler
crab?

9. Cryptic coloration
How is this ghost crab using cryptic
coloration?
Notice that the tiny ghost
crab is hard to see. It blends
in with the sand. This is an
example of cryptic
coloration.

10. Cryptic coloration
How does cryptic coloration help this ghost
crab to survive?
Ghost crabs live in burrows
on the beach, but go down
to the waves each day to
wet their gills and find food.
Their camouflage helps
them to avoid being eaten.

11. Cryptic coloration
How do these inchworms blend in with their
environment?
These inchworms are the
same color as the leaves
that they are feeding on.
This helps to keep them
from being eaten by hungry
birds.

12. Cryptic coloration
Why is cryptic coloration important for this
cheetah?
Even though cheetahs don’t
have to hide from predators,
their spots help them to
avoid being seen as they
hunt for prey.

13. Cryptic coloration
Think back to the examples that you thought
of. Which ones were cryptic coloration? How
were the animals trying to blend in with their
surroundings?

14. Four kinds of camouflage

•Cryptic coloration
•Disruptive coloration
•Mimicry
•Countershading

15. Disruptive coloration
Animals that use disruptive coloration aren’t
trying to blend in. Instead, they’re trying to
dazzle and confuse their predators.

16. Disruptive coloration
This creature is a star tortoise. It naturally
lives in areas with tall grass. How does it use
disruptive coloration?
The star-like pattern on the
tortoise breaks up the
tortoise’s outline. This
makes it hard to see in tall
grass.

17. Disruptive coloration
Scientists think that a zebra’s stripes are an
example of disruptive coloration. Why do you
think so?
When there are many
zebras together, a predator
might have trouble telling
one zebra from another.

18. Disruptive coloration
How is disruptive coloration different from
cryptic coloration?
How is disruptive coloration similar to cryptic
coloration?

19. Four kinds of camouflage

•Cryptic coloration
•Disruptive coloration
•Mimicry
•Countershading

20. Mimicry
Animals that show a form of camouflage
called mimicry look similar to something else

21. Mimicry
Sometimes, a non-poisonous creature will have
coloring that looks like a poisonous creature.
Many insects look
like bumblebees.
Why might it be
useful to mimic a
bumblebee?

22. Mimicry
In another form of mimicry, two poisonous
creatures will look similar to one another.
The viceroy and the
monarch butterflies are
both poisonous. Having
similar colors means that
predators will avoid them
both.

23. Review
Look at the mole crab in the picture. What
kind of camouflage does it show? Why do you
think so?
The mole crab
shows cryptic
coloration. It’s
hard to see
against the sand.

24. Review
Look at the giraffe in the picture. What kind
of camouflage does it show? Why do you
think so?
The giraffe is probably
an example of disruptive
coloration.

25. Review
This tiger swallowtail is not poisonous…but it
looks like the pipevine swallowtail, which is.
What kind of camouflage is this?
This is an example of
mimicry.

26. Four kinds of camouflage

•Cryptic coloration
•Disruptive coloration
•Mimicry
•Countershading

27. Countershading
Animals that have countershading are darker
on the top, and lighter on the bottom
From below, these
creatures blend in with the
bright sky or sun above
them…
And from above, they blend
in with the darker land or
water below them.

28. Countershading
This largemouth bass is a predator. How does
countershading help it to survive?

29. Countershading
What other creatures with countershading
can you think of?
Penguins
Some kinds of sharks
White-tailed deer
Some caterpillars
Squirrels

30. Review
How can countershading help these penguins
to avoid a leopard seal?

31. Review

•Cryptic coloration
•Disruptive coloration
•___________________
•Countershading
Which kind of
camouflage is
missing?

32. Review

•Cryptic coloration
•Disruptive coloration
•Mimicry
•Countershading

33. Review
What kind of camouflage
does this animal show?
Crayfish have cryptic
coloration to blend in with the
bottom of the stream. They
also show countershading,
because their undersides are
lighter.

34. Review
Explain how cryptic
coloration helps this
flounder to survive.

35. More camouflage!
caracal
Gila monster

36. More camouflage!
Female goldfinch
brown anole

37. What have you learned?
Go back to your list of animals with
camouflage.
What kinds of camouflage do these animals
show?
What have you learned about animal
camouflage?