The Gaboon Viper Bitis gabonica is a camouflaged ambush predator. Common names: Gaboon viper butterfly adder forest puff adder swampjack ( more) Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture prey by stealth or cunning not by speed or necessarily by strength

In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation. Ecology (from Greek grc οἶκος oikos, "house(hold" and grc -λογία -logia) is the scientific study of A cryptic animal may do this through camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle, transparency,^[1] or mimicry. Camouflage is a method of cryptic or concealing coloration that allows an otherwise visible Organism As an Animal behavior, nocturnality describes sleeping during the Daytime and being active at Night - the opposite of the diurnal In Optics, transparency (also called pellucidity) is the Material property of allowing Biological mimicry occurs when a group of organisms the mimics, have The word is also used in the context of eggs ^[2] and pheromone production ^[3]. In most Birds and Reptiles an egg ( Latin ovum) is the Zygote, resulting from Fertilization of the Ovum.

There is a strong evolutionary pressure for animals to blend into their environment or conceal their shape; for prey animals to avoid predators and for predators to be able to sneak up on prey. (Exceptions include: large herbivores without natural enemies; brilliantly-colored birds which rely on flight to escape predators; and venomous or poisonous animals which advertise with bright colors. Herbivory is a form of Predation in which an Organism, known as a herbivore, consumes principally Autotrophs ref name=Campbell>Campbell This article is about the class of Biotoxins For other uses see Venom (disambiguation and Venomous (disambiguation. In the context of Biology, poisons are substances that can cause damage, Illness, or Death to Organisms usually by ) Cryptic animals include the tawny frogmouth (feather patterning resembles bark), the tuatara (hides in burrows all day; nocturnal), some jellyfish (transparent), the leafy sea dragon, and the flounder (covers itself in sediment). The Tawny Frogmouth, Podargus strigoides, is an Australian variety of Frogmouth, a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland Tasmania The tuatara is a reptile endemic to New Zealand which though it resembles most lizards is actually part of a distinct lineage order Sphenodontia. Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. They have several different basic morphologies that represent several different cnidarian classes including the The leafy sea dragon, Phycodurus eques, is a marine Fish related to the Seahorse. Flounder (rarely fluke) are Flatfish that live in ocean waters ie

The distinction between camouflage and mimicry is arbitrarily defined in that mimicry requires that the "model" be another organism, rather than the surroundings; the arbitrary nature of this distinction between the two phenomena can be seen by considering animals that resemble twigs, bark, leaves or flowers, in that they are often classified as camouflaged (a plant does constitute the "surroundings"), but sometimes classified as mimics (a plant is also an organism). Either way, the animal is considered cryptic.

A common snakeneck turtle covered in camouflaging algae; when resting this individual would look like an algae covered rock

Crypsis is usually most effective when an animal is still. The Common snake-neck turtle ( Chelodina longicollis) also known as the Eastern long-neck turtle, Eastern snake-neck turtle, or Common long-neck Camouflage is a method of cryptic or concealing coloration that allows an otherwise visible Organism Algae ( sing. alga are a large and diverse group of simple typically Autotrophic organisms ranging from Unicellular to Multicellular forms Cryptic animals that forage during daylight may be ambush predators, taking advantage of their ability to blend into their background. Ambush predators or sit-and-wait predators are carnivorous animals that capture prey by stealth or cunning not by speed or necessarily by strength Alternatively, cryptic animals may be active predators in darkness and use their crypsis while inactive. Some cryptic animals also simulate natural movement, e. g. , of a leaf in the wind. This is called procryptic behaviour or habit. Other animals attach or attract natural materials to their body for concealment.

A few animals have chromatic response, changing color in changing environments, either seasonally (ermine, snowshoe hare) or far more rapidly with chromatophores in their integument (chameleon, the cephalopod family). The Snowshoe Hare ( Lepus americanus) also called the Varying Hare, is a species of Hare found in North America. Chromatophores are pigment -containing and light-reflecting cells found in Amphibians Fish, Reptiles Crustaceans and Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are squamates that belong to one of the best-known Lizard families The cephalopods ( Greek plural (kephalópoda "head-feet" are the Mollusc class Cephalopoda characterized by

Some animals, notably in aquatic environments, have adapted to camouflage the odours they create that may attract predators.

Countershading (or obliterative camouflage), the use of different colors on upper and lower surfaces in graduating tones from a light belly to a darker back, is common in the sea and on land. Countershading, or Thayer’s Law, is a form of Camouflage. Countershading in which an animal’s pigmentation is darker dorsally, is often thought This is sometimes called Thayer's law, after Abbott H. Thayer who published a paper on the form in 1896. Abbott Handerson Thayer (August 12 1849 – May 29 1921 was an American artist naturalist and teacher

There is often a self-perpetuating co-evolution, or evolutionary arms race, between the perceptive abilities of animals for whom it is beneficial to be able to detect the cryptic animal, versus the cryptic characteristics of the hiding species. In Evolutionary biology, an evolutionary arms race is an Evolutionary struggle between competing sets of co-evolving Genes that develop adaptations In Psychology and the Cognitive sciences perception is the process of attaining awareness or understanding of sensory Information. Different aspects of crypsis and sensory abilities may be more or less pronounced in given predator-prey species pairs.

Zoologists need special methods to study cryptic animals including biotelemetry techniques such as radio tracking, mark and recapture, and enclosures or exclosures. Biotelemetry (or Medical Telemetry involves the application of Telemetry in the Medical field to remotely monitor various Vital signs of Ambulatory Mark and recapture is a method commonly used in Ecology to estimate Population size and population vital rates (i

Cryptic animals tend to be overlooked in studies of biodiversity and ecological risk assessment. Biodiversity is the variation of Life forms within a given Ecosystem, Biome or for the entire Earth.

Gallery

An infant Cuttlefish blends into the surrounding sand substrate. Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida belonging to the Cephalopoda class (which also includes Squid, Octopuses	A Dead Leaf Mantis from Madagascar. Mantidae is the largest family of the order Mantodea, commonly known as praying mantises most are tropical or subtropical Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern	Tawny Frogmouth blends in with color and texture of tree bark. The Tawny Frogmouth, Podargus strigoides, is an Australian variety of Frogmouth, a type of bird found throughout the Australian mainland Tasmania	Countershaded Ibex are almost invisible in the Israeli desert. Countershading, or Thayer’s Law, is a form of Camouflage. Countershading in which an animal’s pigmentation is darker dorsally, is often thought An ibex, commonly called by its French name bouquetin also called Steinbock in German an individual of any of several species of wild mountain goats (genus
Australian grasshopper with the shape and coloration of a leaf	The colouration of the leaf-nosed viper (Eristicophis macmahonii) blends with sand. Common names: McMahon's viper Asian sand viper leaf-nosed viper	Mossy leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus sikorae) blends with a log

References

External links

• Sazima Network - Relevant Scientific Papers and Pictures.