A quail egg is like a protein-filled, free lunch, waiting on the ground to be spotted—and devoured—by a predator. But the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) seems to have mastered an impressive level of camouflage-manipulating behavior to keep her eggs off the menu. Female Japanese quails tend to lay distinctive eggs that are specific to each [...]

Octopuses that live in the deep open ocean are difficult enough to find. But try locating a “glass” octopus, which is nearly transparent. Floating in the dim midwaters, this gelatinous octopod looks almost like a be-suckered jellyfish. Rather than camouflaging like most known octopus species, the Vitreledonella richardi has taken this alternative approach to hide [...]

The diminutive blue-ringed octopus (Hapalochlaena lunulata) looks like a sweet, possibly even fantastical creature. Often measuring less than 20 centimeters long and covered with dozens of bright blue rings, it spends most of its time hiding out in shells or rocks near the beach. But don’t be fooled—this little cephalopod is trouble. One small nip [...]

Octopuses and Kindles might have more in common than you think. It’s true that you can’t read a Jules Verne novel off an octopus. And a Kindle can’t camouflage itself against a brightly colored, textured coral reef. But the two both depend on using ambient light to generate their “display,” and both can change their appearance [...]

An octopus can slink through amazingly small spaces—often much to the chagrin of aquarium owners and zookeepers. These animals’ muscular, boneless bodies have just one hard part—a small beak. So the rest of their flexible forms can maneuver into crevasses, along tiny tubes and even through small holes in a finely woven fisherman’s net. By [...]

The octopus is an amazing master of disguise. It can essentially vanish, right before your eyes, into a complex scene of colorful coral or a clump of kelp waving in the currents. For a view of this phenomenon in reverse, check out this now-viral video shot by Woods Hole Marine Biology Laboratory senior scientist Roger [...]

Mimic octopuses (Thaumoctopus mimicus) have one-upped their well-camouflaged cousins by actively impersonating other sea creatures—such as venomous sea snakes and lionfish—by changing their body shape and movement. But they have now been one-upped by a tiny fish that mimics them (or at least takes advantage of their complex patterning and movement to better camouflage itself). [...]

Vivid videos have captured stunning shallow-water octopuses performing impressive feats of disguise—changing color and texture to match kelp, coral or the sandy bottom. But what need would a deep-sea octopod, who lives suspended in dim light and darkness, have for fancy disguises? Plenty, according to a new study published online Thursday in Current Biology. Octopuses [...]