Skittles the Panther Chameleon

Here is the new addition to our wildly diverse and ever-growing family. Meet Skittles, the Panther Chameleon. Panther Chameleons are native to Madagascar. I learned a couple cool facts recently about chameleons. Contrary to popular belief, chameleons do not change their colors to camouflage themselves. They actually use their color changes as way to express their moods and possibly even as a way to regulate temperature. What's even more amazing to me is the way that chameleons change their colors.

"A recent study showed that the chameleon’s enigmatic ability to change its visible color is not like other animals, such as octopi and squid, who camouflage their appearance. Chameleons don’t make pigment dispensations into their skin cells. They alter their chromatic visibility by making specific adjustments to special cells nestled deep within the skin. The upper layer of skin changes color by way of structural alterations in reflecting light. This is more prevalent in males than juveniles or females. They have two thick, superposed layers of iridescent skin cells that reflect light and contain pigment; called iridophore cells. These iridophore cells have nanocrystals that vary in organization, shape and size. This is the secret to the chameleon’s enchanting color metamorphoses. They can transmute this arrangement through changes in the skin, either by relaxing or exciting them via the emotions."

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