Sunday, April 7, 2013

Amazing camouflaged animals (1)

Common baron caterpillar

If you're a hungry bird in western Malaysia, good luck finding any common baron caterpillars. Plenty of other butterfly larvae blend in with local plants, but few can vanish into vegetation like the baron.
 
 

Pygmy seahorse

Coral reefs are rough places to live, so their residents often use camouflage to stay safe. And when it comes to living incognito among coral, the pygmy seahorse wrote the book.
 
 

Mossy leaf-tailed gecko

It may look like this lizard has been overrun with moss, but save your sympathy — that's its skin. This is the mossy leaf-tailed gecko, a master of disguise found only in the forests of Madagascar
 
 Click on the Image to enlarge.

Jaguar

This jaguar may be at a zoo in the U.K., but not even England is immune to its versatile fur. Like many cats, jaguars have evolved vague, spotty patterns that blend into a variety of backgrounds, including some far from home.
 
 

Tawny frogmouth

Famous for their gaping beaks and big yellow eyes, tawny frogmouths look like cartoon characters — when they're not imitating a tree, that is. If they suspect danger, they simply close their eyes, tilt back their heads and blend into the bark, as the one on the left is doing in this photo 
 
  Click on the Image to enlarge.

Stonefish

If you're ever snorkeling in the Indian or Pacific Ocean, look out for coral reefs looking back at you. You could be staring down a stonefish, the most venomous fish on Earth.