How do chameleons communicate

Amazing Animals. Weird But True! Party Animals. Try This! Explore More. Chameleons change colors to attract mates, regulate body temperature, or tell intruders to stay away. Common Name: Meller's Chameleon. Scientific Name: Trioceros melleri. Type: Reptiles. Diet: Carnivore. Size: 21 inches. Weight: Explore more! When a chameleon wants to change colors, he redistributes the pigment in the chromatophores -- small structures located in the skin.

When the pigment in these chromatophores moves, a variety of colors show through. Chameleons also thermoregulate by changing colors.

They turn darker when they need to warm up and paler when they need to cool off. Chameleons are largely solitary animals, except when they are mating. While some males will allow unreceptive females to live in their territory, others will exclude all animals except receptive or recently bred females.

In almost all cases, males will exclude other males from their territories. The first step of a territorial interaction is usually to display the brightest territorial color display possible. Panther chameleon males are some of the most interesting species, as the males are not only incredibly colored, but they present colors that vary with geographic location.

Males from Nose Be and Ambanja present lots of blue tones, whereas males from Tamatave often display bright red colors. When a female and male encounter each other, the female will adopt receptive or nonreceptive coloration, indicating her reproductive state. Though the color change varies by species, most receptive females display colors at the light end of the spectrum, relative to the species.

Since chameleons can't generate their own body heat, changing the color of their skin is a way to maintain a favorable body temperature. A cold chameleon may become dark to absorb more heat, whereas a hotter chameleon may turn pale to reflect the sun's heat.

Chameleons will also use bold color changes to communicate. Males become bright to signal their dominance and turn dark in aggressive encounters. Females can let males know if they're willing to mate by changing the color of their skin. Owners of chameleons can learn to read their pet's mood based on the color of its skin. So how do they pull off these colorful changes? The outermost layer of the chameleon's skin is transparent. Beneath this are several more layers of skin that contain specialized cells called chromatophores.