Blue sharks can change colour like chameleon, scientists find
Scientists discover another animal that can change colour
- A new study indicates that blue sharks may possess the ability to change their skin colour, akin to chameleons, owing to unique structures on their skin.
- The shark's distinctive blue colouration is generated by tiny nanostructures located within the pulp cavities of its dermal denticles, which are specialised skin scales.
- Guanine crystals function as blue reflectors, while the pigment melanin absorbs other light wavelengths, with these two components working collaboratively to produce the shark's hue.
- Researchers discovered that the interplay between guanine and melanin not only creates the colour but also enables the potential for its alteration.
- Environmental elements, such as increased water pressure at greater depths, can influence the spacing of guanine crystals, leading to the shark's skin darkening for enhanced camouflage.