We all know that chameleons change color. But there is another marine master of disguise that you might not know about–the cuttlefish. This animal can change its skin with more variety and much faster than a chameleon. The secret has to do with how it communicates to tell its body to change.
The chameleon sends signals through its bloodstream to tell the body to camouflage. However, the cuttlefish sends electrical signals using its nervous system, which is much faster. By the time a chameleon has changed once, a cuttlefish has changed four times.
The reason for the cuttlefish’s ability to have such a diverse range in camouflaging is that it skin is made up of three layers. The first layer can change to warm colors, the second layer can change to all the others, the third layer can turn white. The combination of all those layers allows the cuttlefish to change to any color, plus patterns.
Here is a video for you to se for yourself (courtesy Roger Hanlon):