Crypsis

Aspect of animal behaviour and morphology

This article is about animals that are difficult to detect. For the genus of grasses, see Crypsis (genus). For animals whose existence is not scientifically recognized, see Cryptid.

Hiding

Revealing itself

Cryptic behavior. Mossy leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus sikorae) Montagne d’Ambre, Madagascar, showing camouflage using a flange of skin to eliminate shadow

In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an animal or a plant[1] to avoid observation or detection by other animals. It may be part of a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation. Methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle and mimicry. Crypsis can involve visual, olfactory (with pheromones) or auditory concealment. When it is visual, the term cryptic coloration, effectively a synonym for animal camouflage, is sometimes used, but many different methods of camouflage are employed in nature.

## Overview

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There is a strong evolutionary pressure for prey animals to avoid predators through camouflage, and for predators to be able to detect camouflaged prey. There can be a self-perpetuating coevolution, in the shape of an evolutionary arms race, between the perceptive abilities of animals attempting to detect the cryptic animal and the cryptic characteristics of the hiding species.[2]

## Methods

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Further information: List of camouflage methods

A Draco lizard showing camouflage methods including background matching, disruptive coloration, reduction of shadow, and cryptic behavior in Bandipur National Park

Methods of crypsis include (visual) camouflage, nocturnality, and subterranean lifestyle. Camouflage can be achieved by a wide variety of methods, from disruptive coloration to transparency and some forms of mimicry, even in habitats like the open sea where there is no background.[3][4]

As a strategy, crypsis is used by predators against prey and by prey against predators.[3]

Crypsis also applies to eggs[5] and pheromone production.[6] Crypsis can in principle involve visual, olfactory, or auditory camouflage.[7]

### Visual

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Main article: Camouflage

Camouflage allows animals like this disruptively-patterned spider to capture prey more easily.

Many animals have evolved so that they visually resemble their surroundings by using any of the many methods of natural camouflage that may match the color and texture of the surroundings (cryptic coloration) and/or break up the visual outline of the animal itself (disruptive coloration). Such animals, like the tawny dragon lizard, may resemble rocks, sand, twigs, leaves, and even bird droppings (mimesis). Other methods including transparency and silvering are widely used by marine animals.[8]

Some animals change color in changing environments seasonally, as in ermine and snowshoe hare, or far more rapidly with chromatophores in their integuments, as in chameleon and cephalopods such as squid.

Countershading, 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. It is sometimes called Thayer's law, after the American artist Abbott Handerson Thayer, who published a paper on the form in 1896 that explained that countershading paints out shadows to make solid objects appear flat, reversing the way that artists use paint to make flat paintings contain solid objects. Where the background is brighter than is possible even with white pigment, counter-illumination in marine animals, such as squid, can use light to match the background.

Some animals actively camouflage themselves with local materials. The decorator crabs attach plants, animals, small stones, or shell fragments to their carapaces to provide camouflage that matches the local environment. Some species preferentially select stinging animals such as sea anemones or noxious plants, benefiting from aposematism as well as or instead of crypsis.[9]

### Olfactory

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Some animals, in both terrestrial and aquatic environments, appear to camouflage their odor, which might otherwise attract predators.[10] Numerous arthropods, both insects and spiders, mimic ants, whether to avoid predation, to hunt ants, or (as in the large blue butterfly caterpillar) to trick the ants into feeding them.[11] Pirate perch (Aphredoderus sayanus) may exhibit chemical crypsis, making them undetectable to frogs and insects colonizing ponds.[12] Trained dogs and meerkats, both scent-oriented predators, have been shown to have difficulty detecting puff adders, whose strategy of ambushing prey necessitates concealment from both predators and prey.[13]

### Auditory

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Some insects, notably some Noctuid moths, (such as the large yellow underwing), and some tiger moths, (such as the garden tiger), have been supposed to defend themselves against predation by echolocating bats, both by passively absorbing sound with soft, fur-like body coverings and by actively creating sounds to mimic echoes from other locations or objects. The active strategy was described as a "phantom echo" that might therefore represent "auditory crypsis" with alternative theories about interfering with the bats' echolocation ("jamming").[14][15] Subsequent research has provided evidence for only two functions of moth sounds, neither of which involve "auditory crypsis". Tiger moth species appear to cluster into two distinct groups. One type produces sounds as acoustic aposematism, warning the bats that the moths are unpalatable,[16] or at least performing as acoustic mimics of unpalatable moths.[17] The other type uses sonar jamming. In the latter type of moth, detailed analyses failed to support a "phantom echo" mechanism underlying sonar jamming, but instead pointed towards echo interference.[18]

## References

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1. ^ Gianoli, Ernesto; Carrasco-Urra, Fernando (2014). "Leaf Mimicry in a Climbing Plant Protects against Herbivory". Current Biology. 24 (9): 984–987\. Bibcode:2014CBio...24..984G. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.03.010. hdl:10533/129445. PMID 24768053.
2. ^ Franks, D. W.; Noble, J. (2004). "Warning signals and predator-prey coevolution". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 271 (1550): 1859–1865\. doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2795. PMC 1691800. PMID 15315903.
3. ^ a b Zuanon, J.; I. Sazima (2006). "The almost invisible league: crypsis and association between minute fishes and shrimps as a possible defence against visually hunting predators". Neotropical Ichthyology. 4 (2): 219–224\. doi:10.1590/s1679-62252006000200008.
4. ^ Allaby, Michael (2014). "Crypsis". A Dictionary of Zoology (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
5. ^ Nguyen, L. P.; et al. (2007). "Using digital photographs to evaluate the effectiveness of plover egg crypsis". Journal of Wildlife Management. 71 (6): 2084–2089\. Bibcode:2007JWMan..71.2084N. doi:10.2193/2006-471. S2CID 83705425.
6. ^ Raffa, K. R.; et al. (2007). "Can chemical communication be cryptic? Adaptations by herbivores to natural enemies exploiting prey semiochemistry". Oecologia. 153 (4): 1009–1019\. Bibcode:2007Oecol.153.1009R. doi:10.1007/s00442-007-0786-z. PMID 17618465. S2CID 16437625.
7. ^ "Definition of Crypsis". Amateur Entomologists' Society. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
8. ^ "All Lives Transform:Adaptation- Mimicry". Morning-earth.org. February 14, 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved January 5, 2012.
9. ^ Hultgren, Kristin; Stachowicz, Jay; Stevens, Martin; Merilaita, S. (2011). "Camouflage in decorator crabs: Camouflage in decorator crabs". Animal Camouflage (PDF). Cambridge University Press. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 15, 2017. Retrieved December 13, 2012.
10. ^ Michael R. Conover. Predator-Prey Dynamics: the role of olfaction. CRC Press. 2007. ISBN 978-0-8493-9270-2
11. ^ Donisthorpe, Horace (January 1922). "Mimicry of Ants by Other Arthropods". Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London. 69 (3–4): 307–311\. Bibcode:1922EcoEn..69..307D. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2311.1922.tb02812.x.3–4&rft.pages=307-311&rft.date=1922-01&rft_id=info:doi/10.1111/j.1365-2311.1922.tb02812.x&rft_id=info:bibcode/1922EcoEn..69..307D&rft.aulast=Donisthorpe&rft.aufirst=Horace&rft_id=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/part/37051&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Crypsis" class="Z3988">
12. ^ Resetarits, William J. Jr.; Binckley, Christopher A. (2013). "Is the pirate really a ghost? Evidence for generalized chemical camouflage in an aquatic predator, pirate perch Aphredoderus sayanus" (PDF). The American Naturalist. 181 (5): 690–699\. Bibcode:2013ANat..181..690R. doi:10.1086/670016. PMID 23594551. S2CID 26747440. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 4, 2013.
13. ^ Miller, Ashadee Kay; Maritz, Bryan; McKay, Shannon; Glaudas, Xavier; Alexander, Graham J. (December 22, 2015). "An ambusher's arsenal: chemical crypsis in the puff adder (Bitis arietans)". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282 (1821). The Royal Society: 20152182. doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.2182. ISSN 0962-8452. PMC 4707760. PMID 26674950.
14. ^ Miller, Lee A.; Surlykke, Annemarie (July 2001). "How Some Insects Detect and Avoid Being Eaten by Bats: Tactics and Countertactics of Prey and Predator" (PDF). BioScience. 51 (7): 570–581\. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0570:HSIDAA]2.0.CO;2.
15. ^ Griffin, Donald R. (July 2001). "Full Access Return to the Magic Well: Echolocation Behavior of Bats and Responses of Insect Prey". BioScience. 51 (7): 555–556\. doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0555:RTTMWE]2.0.CO;2. JSTOR 10.1641/0006-3568(2001)051[0555:RTTMWE]2.0.CO;2.
16. ^ Hristov, N. I.; Conner, W.E. (2005). "Sound strategy: acoustic aposematism in the bat–tiger moth arms race". Naturwissenschaften. 92 (4): 164–169\. Bibcode:2005NW.....92..164H. doi:10.1007/s00114-005-0611-7. PMID 15772807. S2CID 18306198.
17. ^ Barber, J. R.; Conner, W. E. (2007). "Acoustic mimicry in a predator–prey interaction". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 104 (22): 9331–9334\. Bibcode:2007PNAS..104.9331B. doi:10.1073/pnas.0703627104. PMC 1890494. PMID 17517637.
18. ^ Corcoran, A.J.; Conner, W.E.; Barber, J.R. (2010). "Anti-bat tiger moth sounds: Form and function". Current Zoology. 56 (3): 358–369\. doi:10.1093/czoolo/56.3.358.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crypsis.

* Dive Gallery: decorator crabs.
* Caterpillar that resembles bird droppings on leaves.

* v
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Camouflage

Methods|

* Camouflage
* Countershading
* Active camouflage
* Counter-illumination
* Disruptive coloration
* Coincident disruptive coloration
* Disruptive eye mask
* Distractive markings
* Motion camouflage
* Multi-scale camouflage
* Multi-spectral camouflage
* Self-decoration
* Snow camouflage
* Urban camouflage

In nature|

* As evidence for natural selection
* Crypsis
* Decorator crab
* Flower mantis
* Mimicry
* Batesian
* Müllerian
* Aggressive
* Underwater camouflage

People|

| Early|

* Edward Bagnall Poulton
* The Colours of Animals
* Abbott Handerson Thayer
* Concealing-Coloration in the Animal Kingdom

|

Camoufleurs|

* Mary Taylor Brush
* Lucien-Victor Guirand de Scévola
* John Graham Kerr
* Norman Wilkinson
* Everett Warner
* Leon Underwood
* Johann Georg Otto Schick
* Hugh Cott
* Adaptive Coloration in Animals
* Geoffrey Barkas
* Timothy O'Neill

Researchers|

* Roy Behrens
* Tim Caro
* Innes Cuthill
* Thomas N. Sherratt
* Martin Stevens

Military|

| Topics|

* Military camouflage
* Aircraft camouflage
* Camouflage clothing in Trinidad and Tobago
* Dazzle camouflage
* List of countries that prohibit camouflage clothing
* Middle East Command Camouflage Directorate
* Ship camouflage
* USN WWII camouflage measures

|

Patterns|

| Up to WWII|

| German
WWII|

* Splittertarnmuster (1931)
* Platanenmuster (1937)
* Rauchtarnmuster (1939)
* Palmenmuster (c 1941)
* Sumpfmuster (1943)
* Erbsenmuster (1944)
* Leibermuster (1945)

|

Other|

* Camouflage tree (1915)
* Lozenge (1917 aircraft)
* Telo mimetico (1929 tent)
* Denison smock (1941)
* Frog skin (1942)
* Ghillie suit

Post-war|

* Lizard (1947)
* Strichtarn (1960)
* KLMK (1968)

Late 20th
century|

* Jigsaw (1958)
* Tiger stripe (1962)
* Rhodesian Brushstroke (1965)
* ERDL (1967)
* Disruptive Pattern Material (1969)
* wz. 68 Moro (1969)
* Six-Color Desert Pattern (Chocolate Chip) (1981)
* U.S. "M81" Woodland (1981)
* Australian Disruptive Pattern (1982)
* TAZ 83 (1983)
* M84 (1984)
* Type 87 (China) (1987)
* wz. 89 Puma (1989)
* Camouflage Daguet (1989)
* M90 (1990)
* Desert Night Camouflage (1990)
* Flecktarn (1990)
* Tropentarn (1990)
* Desert Camouflage Pattern (1990)
* Camouflage Central-Europe (1991)
* Soldier 2000 (1993)
* TAZ 90 (1993)
* wz. 93 Pantera (1993)
* CADPAT (1997)
* Dubok (1997)
* M98 (1998)
* Flora (1998)

21st
century|

* MARPAT (2001) (Marine Corps Combat Utility Uniform (2002))
* MultiCam (2002)
* Tactical Assault Camouflage (2004)
* Universal Camouflage Pattern (2004)
* ESTDCU (2006)
* M05 (2007)
* Airman Battle Uniform (2007)
* Type 07 (2007)
* EMR (2008)
* Multi-Terrain Pattern (2010)
* Australian Multicam (2014)
* MM-14 (2014)
* Varan (camouflage) (2015)
* HunCam (2015)
* Operational Camouflage Pattern (2015)
* Multitarn (2016)
* Netherlands Fractal Pattern (2019)
* Xingkong (2019)
* K20 (2020)

Technology|

| Deployed|

* Berberys-R
* Nakidka

|

Prototypes|

* Diffused lighting camouflage (1941)
* Yehudi lights (1943)
* Adaptiv (2011)

Related|

* Dazzled and Deceived
* Stealth technology
* Cloaking device
* Invisibility

* v
* t
* e

Evolutionary ecology

Patterns of evolution|

* Coloration evidence for natural selection
* Convergent evolution
* examples
* Parallel evolution
* Divergent evolution
* Paradox of the plankton
* Predator satiation

Signals|

* Signalling theory
* Anti-predator adaptation
* Alarm signal
* Aposematism
* Apparent death
* Deimatic behaviour
* Distraction display
*   * Crypsis
* Camouflage
* Mimicry
* Unkenreflex

* v
* t
* e

Vision in animals

Vision|

* Birds
* Chameleons
* Dinosaurs
* Fish
* Toads
* Mammals
* horses
* dogs
* cats

Eyes|

* Arthropod eye
* Compound eye
* Eagle eye
* Eye shine
* Simple eye in invertebrates
* Mammalian eye
* human
* Mollusc eye
* cephalopod
* gastropod
* Holochroal eye
* Parietal eye
* Schizochroal eye

Evolution|

* Evolution of the eye
* Evolution of color vision
* Evolution of color vision in primates

Coloration|

* Albinism
* Animal coloration
* Aposematism
* Camouflage
* Chromatophore
* Counter-illumination
* Countershading
* Crypsis
* Deimatic behaviour
* Disruptive coloration
* coincident
* Eyespot (mimicry)
* Mimicry
* Structural coloration
* Underwater camouflage

Related topics|

* Animal senses
* Blindness in animals
* Eyespot apparatus
* Feature detection
* Infrared sensing in snakes
* Monocular deprivation
* Ommatidium
* Palpebral (bone)
* Pseudopupil
* Rhopalium
* Underwater vision
* Visual perception

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