IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/nat/natcom/v6y2015i1d10.1038_ncomms7368.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Photonic crystals cause active colour change in chameleons

Author

Listed:
  • Jérémie Teyssier

    (University of Geneva)

  • Suzanne V. Saenko

    (Laboratory of Artificial and Natural Evolution (LANE), University of Geneva, Sciences III, 30, Quai Ernest-Ansermet, Geneva 1211, Switzerland)

  • Dirk van der Marel

    (University of Geneva)

  • Michel C. Milinkovitch

    (Laboratory of Artificial and Natural Evolution (LANE), University of Geneva, Sciences III, 30, Quai Ernest-Ansermet, Geneva 1211, Switzerland)

Abstract

Many chameleons, and panther chameleons in particular, have the remarkable ability to exhibit complex and rapid colour changes during social interactions such as male contests or courtship. It is generally interpreted that these changes are due to dispersion/aggregation of pigment-containing organelles within dermal chromatophores. Here, combining microscopy, photometric videography and photonic band-gap modelling, we show that chameleons shift colour through active tuning of a lattice of guanine nanocrystals within a superficial thick layer of dermal iridophores. In addition, we show that a deeper population of iridophores with larger crystals reflects a substantial proportion of sunlight especially in the near-infrared range. The organization of iridophores into two superposed layers constitutes an evolutionary novelty for chameleons, which allows some species to combine efficient camouflage with spectacular display, while potentially providing passive thermal protection.

Suggested Citation

  • Jérémie Teyssier & Suzanne V. Saenko & Dirk van der Marel & Michel C. Milinkovitch, 2015. "Photonic crystals cause active colour change in chameleons," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 6(1), pages 1-7, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms7368
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms7368
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms7368
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1038/ncomms7368?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yang Hu & Chenze Qi & Dekun Ma & Dongpeng Yang & Shaoming Huang, 2024. "Multicolor recordable and erasable photonic crystals based on on-off thermoswitchable mechanochromism toward inkless rewritable paper," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-10, December.
    2. Russell A Ligon & Kevin J McGraw, 2018. "A chorus of color: hierarchical and graded information content of rapid color change signals in chameleons," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 29(5), pages 1075-1087.
    3. Lin Lu & Bo Wu & Xinyuan He & Fen Zhao & Xing Feng & Dong Wang & Zijie Qiu & Ting Han & Zheng Zhao & Ben Zhong Tang, 2024. "Multiple photofluorochromic luminogens via catalyst-free alkene oxidative cleavage photoreaction for dynamic 4D codes encryption," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-11, December.
    4. Tyler R. Stevens & Nathan B. Crane & Rydge B. Mulford, 2023. "Topology Morphing Insulation: A Review of Technologies and Energy Performance in Dynamic Building Insulation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-38, October.
    5. Qiwei Li & Zaozao Chen & Ying Zhang & Shuang Ding & Haibo Ding & Luping Wang & Zhuoying Xie & Yifu Fu & Mengxiao Wei & Shengnan Liu & Jialun Chen & Xuan Wang & Zhongze Gu, 2023. "Imaging cellular forces with photonic crystals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-14, December.
    6. Pei Zhang & Iek Man Lei & Guangda Chen & Jingsen Lin & Xingmei Chen & Jiajun Zhang & Chengcheng Cai & Xiangyu Liang & Ji Liu, 2022. "Integrated 3D printing of flexible electroluminescent devices and soft robots," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 13(1), pages 1-8, December.
    7. Yingyue Zhang & Hanrui Zhu & Shun An & Wenkui Xing & Benwei Fu & Peng Tao & Wen Shang & Jianbo Wu & Michael D. Dickey & Chengyi Song & Tao Deng, 2024. "Chameleon-inspired tunable multi-layered infrared-modulating system via stretchable liquid metal microdroplets in elastomer film," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-13, December.
    8. Avital Wagner & Alexander Upcher & Raquel Maria & Thorolf Magnesen & Einat Zelinger & Graça Raposo & Benjamin A. Palmer, 2023. "Macromolecular sheets direct the morphology and orientation of plate-like biogenic guanine crystals," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    9. Quanqian Lyu & Miaomiao Li & Lianbin Zhang & Jintao Zhu, 2024. "Structurally-colored adhesives for sensitive, high-resolution, and non-invasive adhesion self-monitoring," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 15(1), pages 1-12, December.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:6:y:2015:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms7368. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.nature.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.