Two new studies in PLoS (Selection for Social Signalling Drives the Evolution of Chameleon Colour Change and Conspicuous Chameleons), report that chameleons developed their color-changing ways as a means of communicating with one another. This finding contradicts the...
...practical notion that chameleons evolved this ability in order to blend in with their environments. It is important to note, as well, that chameleons DO use their color changing to show dominance to others (communication) and also to camouflage themselves and to regulate their body temperatures. The question here is why and how this trait originally evolved.
In order to test this hypothesis, researchers at the University of Melbourne in Australia worked with 21 species of African dwarf chameleons. The goal was to see whether or not they had developed a "greater display of skin colorations" which would imply that they had evolved them to match a greater number of different habitats or the "flashiest displays" which would imply that the trait evolved as a form of communication. They then put the chameleons in situations which would bring out their color changes and noted the results. (See the Nat'l Geographic article for a more in depth description).
Long story short: "We found that the species that change [the] most are the ones with the most conspicuous displays, whereas there was no relationship between how much they change color and the variety of backgrounds they had to match," said Devi Stuart-Fox, one of the authors of the study. In other words, "They evolved to use their colors to communicate, b$#ches!"
This finding will deal a disappointing blow to fans of rapper Chamillionaire who, it now seems, is "ridin dirty" mostly from his need to assert his dominance over other males, not necessarily because he is "living like we ain't give a f-" or even that he "got warrants in every city except Houston but I'm still ain't losin."
Life Science
Brain & Behavior
