Animals and plants can escape an animal observer’s attention through background matching, broken outlines, masquerade, changing appearances or borrowed cover. Explore the natural adaptations that make a living thing harder to spot or recognise.
11 illustrated examples. Follow each disguise to its full entry, image and sources.
Tricking nature
A peppered moth on birch bark in Jalhay, Belgium. Image: Gilles San Martin · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.Compare pale and dark formsA comparison photograph of the two colour forms. This illustrates their appearance; it is not a predation experiment. Image: Martinowksy at Dutch Wikipedia (Original text: Maarten Sanne) · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0. Unchanged Commons original; viewing previews may be resized.
01 / Background matching
Peppered Moth — Disappearing into Bark
Biston betularia · Woodland trees
Speckled wings repeat the tones and texture of tree bark.
The peppered moth became a classic example of natural selection when dark forms grew more common in polluted British woodland. A 2018 study used models of bird vision and field experiments to connect background matching with survival.
Pale and dark forms suit different backgrounds. The pale form blends better with lichen-covered bark; dark forms can match darker bark. Camouflage depends on the surroundings and the observer’s vision. An adult moth does not switch its wing colour to match each tree.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Find the moth near the upper part of the trunk. Follow the wing edges, then step back and see how the speckles merge with the bark.
An Arctic fox in winter coat in Iceland. Image: Jonatan Pie (unsplash.com/@r3dmax) · Source · CC0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.Compare a summer coatA summer coat, photographed at Numedal Zoo. A different individual and setting from the winter photograph. Image: Andreas Tille · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.
02 / Seasonal background matching
Arctic Fox — A Coat for the Season
Vulpes lagopus · Arctic tundra
A winter coat makes a white fox difficult to separate from snow.
Arctic foxes have white and blue colour morphs. The Norwegian Polar Institute records two annual moults: the white morph develops a white winter coat and a brown-grey summer coat. Blue-morph foxes remain darker throughout the year.
Replacing the coat changes the fox’s contrast against seasonal surroundings. White fur can merge with snow; darker summer fur suits exposed ground. This happens through moulting over time, rather than an instant response to whatever is behind the animal.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Compare the white body with the snow, then notice the dark eyes and nose. Open the summer photograph to see how much the coat can change.
The winter and summer photographs show different individuals in different settings; they are not a time sequence of one fox.
A blacktip reef shark near the surface at Moorea, French Polynesia. Image: Charles J. Sharp · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.
The same shark presents a dark back from above and a pale belly from below.
The Florida Museum describes the blacktip reef shark’s brown-tan upper surface and white underside. This contrast is an example of countershading, a common colour arrangement in sharks.
A dark back can reduce contrast against darker water when seen from above. A pale underside can reduce contrast against the brighter water surface when seen from below. The effect depends on lighting, water and viewing direction; the shark remains visible in this side view.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Trace the change from the darker back to the white belly. Imagine looking down through the water, then looking up towards the surface.
An adult Egyptian nightjar and chick in their natural habitat. Image: "K K" · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.
04 / Background matching and disruptive pattern
Nightjar — A Broken Outline on the Ground
Caprimulgus aegyptius · Sandy, stony ground
Mottled feathers make the boundary between bird and ground difficult to follow.
Ground-resting birds can depend on colour, pattern and resting place for concealment. University of Exeter field research in Zambia connected nightjar camouflage with survival; later work found that birds selected backgrounds suited to their individual appearance.
Small markings repeat the ground’s texture, while contrasting patches can interrupt the apparent body edge. The combination helps conceal an outline that would be easier to follow if the plumage were a single uniform colour.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Locate the head on the right, then trace the bird’s back towards the left. Step away and see which parts of the outline become hardest to separate from the ground.
This Egyptian nightjar photograph is separate from the Zambian research. It illustrates plumage and habitat, rather than documenting a research trial.
A giant leaf insect photographed at a butterfly farm in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. The source file uses the name Phyllium giganteum. Image: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.
05 / Leaf masquerade
Leaf Insect — A Leaf with Legs
Leaf insects · family Phylliidae · Tropical foliage
A flattened body and leaf-like legs make an insect resemble part of a plant.
Leaf insects are herbivores whose appearance conceals them among foliage. The American Museum of Natural History describes their leaf-like bodies, vein-like markings and swaying movement.
This disguise combines green background matching with resemblance to an ordinary leaf. Broad body and leg surfaces, irregular margins and markings make the animal harder to recognise as prey. Stillness helps; swaying movement can resemble a leaf moving in the wind.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Find the head at the upper right, then follow the legs. Look for the boundary where an apparent leaf becomes the insect’s body.
A giant leaf-tailed gecko on Nosy Mangabe, Madagascar. A scanned slide from 2004. Image: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.
06 / Outline concealment
Leaf-tailed Gecko — Softening the Outline
Uroplatus fimbriatus · Madagascar’s forests
Mottled skin and a fringe around the body help a gecko merge with its resting surface.
Giant leaf-tailed geckos are nocturnal forest lizards from Madagascar. They rest by day on branches, trunks and other forest surfaces, where their appearance can conceal them.
Colour matching alone would leave a recognisable silhouette. Fringed skin along the jaw and body can flatten against a surface and soften the boundary between animal and background. The broad tail adds a leaf-like shape. Several features work together to hide the outline.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Look along the lower jaw and belly for the fringed edge. Notice how different that edge is from the clear outlines of the toes and eyes.
This photograph’s dark background reveals the body fringe clearly; it does not show the gecko concealed against a matching trunk.
A leafy seadragon at Pittsburgh Zoo, photographed by Derek Ramsey and edited by Papa Lima Whiskey. Image: Photo by and (C)2007 Derek Ramsey (Ram-Man); derivative edit by Papa Lima Whiskey · Source · CC BY-SA 2.5. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.
07 / Masquerade and body outline
Leafy Seadragon — A Fish That Looks Like Seaweed
Phycodurus eques · Southern and western Australian coastal waters
Leaf-like appendages turn a fish’s silhouette into an apparent tangle of seaweed.
Leafy seadragons inhabit the cooler coastal waters of southern and western Australia. Their elaborate lobes resemble the vegetation around them. The individual in this photograph was photographed at Pittsburgh Zoo.
The leaf-like lobes break up the familiar outline of a fish and resemble drifting seaweed. The appendages provide disguise; the small fins propel the animal. Shape and setting work together.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Find the eye and snout first. Follow the body towards the curled tail, separating its outline from the leaf-like lobes.
An aquarium portrait reveals the disguise’s anatomy; the background and lighting differ from a natural reef.
Flowering Lithops olivacea in cultivation: the blooms make the plants easier to spot. Image: Abu Shawka · Source · CC BY-SA 3.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.
Rounded leaf pairs resemble the pebbles around them.
Camouflage occurs in plants too. Lithops are succulent plants from southern Africa, often called living stones. Much of each plant lies below the surface; the exposed leaf tops can resemble surrounding rock.
Muted colour, small size and rounded form reduce the difference between a plant and its stony background. A herbivore may overlook a leaf pair or mistake it for a pebble. This combines background matching with masquerade.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Cover the yellow flowers with your hand. Compare the grey-green leaf tops with the gravel. Then uncover the flowers and notice how readily they reveal the plants.
This cultivated, flowering specimen illustrates leaf shape. It does not show an undisturbed wild plant or measure protection from grazing.
Cuttlefish over a rocky seabed. The file does not identify the species. Image: Konyali43 · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.Compare a sandy backgroundA cuttlefish over white sand in Komodo, Indonesia. The photographer describes a colour change on arrival; this still image cannot show its timing. Image: Konyali43 · Source · CC BY-SA 4.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.
09 / Adaptive colour, pattern & texture
Cuttlefish — Skin That Changes the Scene
Cuttlefish · order Sepiida · Seabed habitats
A cuttlefish can change both its skin pattern and its surface texture.
Marine Biological Laboratory researchers study the rapid camouflage of cuttlefish and other cephalopods. Work on the common cuttlefish has also explained how muscles and nerves control raised skin structures called papillae.
Muscles expand or relax pigment organs called chromatophores, changing the visible pattern. Reflective structures also affect appearance. Papillae can raise the skin into bumps, altering its texture and outline. These coordinated changes help an animal resemble sand, algae or rock.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Find the mottled cuttlefish below the more conspicuous one. Compare its back with the surrounding rocks, then open the sandy-background view.
These still photographs illustrate different appearances. They do not measure the speed of change or establish that both views show the same individual.
Fleischmann’s glassfrog. Translucent limbs are visible against the leaf. Image: Mauricio Rivera Correa · Source · CC BY-SA 2.5. Unchanged Commons original; viewing previews may be resized.
10 / Partial transparency
Glassfrog — Letting the Background Through
Hyalinobatrachium fleischmanni · Central American vegetation
Translucent tissues reduce the visual barrier between a small frog and its surroundings.
A 2022 study of Fleischmann’s glassfrogs used photoacoustic imaging to track red blood cells. Resting frogs packed most of those cells into the liver and became more transparent.
Blood absorbs light and can make otherwise transparent tissue visible. Moving red blood cells out of circulation reduces that obstacle while the frog rests. The animal is not entirely invisible: eyes, bones and organs remain visible, and its appearance changes with activity and lighting.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Compare the translucent limbs with the more strongly coloured body and eyes. Follow the research link for photographs comparing sleeping and active frogs.
This photograph is not a controlled sleep-versus-activity comparison and does not reveal where its red blood cells are stored.
A pair of sponge decorator crabs photographed at Port Stephens, New South Wales, by Richard Ling. Image: Richard Ling · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0. Commons size rendition; viewing previews may be resized.
A crab borrows living cover from its habitat instead of relying only on its own colour.
Many decorator crabs attach algae and small animals to hooked bristles on their shells. The Monterey Bay Aquarium describes how this works in Loxorhynchus crispatus. This separate photograph shows a pair of sponge decorator crabs, Hyastenus elatus, at Port Stephens, Australia.
Added material masks the body’s outline and can make the shell resemble its surroundings. This is camouflage by self-decoration: cover is attached to the body rather than produced by changing skin pigment.
LOOK FOR THE DISGUISE
Look for jointed legs beneath the orange and pale covering. Try to distinguish crab body from the organisms covering it.
The aquarium source discusses a different decorator-crab species. The photograph identifies Hyastenus elatus and illustrates attached cover, rather than showing the decoration process.
Background matching reduces differences in colour and texture. Disruptive patterns break up an outline, while masquerade makes a visible animal or plant resemble a leaf, stone or another object.
Can a photograph prove that an animal is camouflaged?
A photograph illustrates its appearance. Camouflage performance depends on the observer, background, lighting, distance and movement, so one image cannot establish how well every predator will detect it.
