Military camouflage was spurred by the increasing range and accuracy of firearms in the 19th century.
It is possible that some plants use camouflage to evade being eaten by herbivores. Some animals, such as chameleons and octopuses, are capable of actively changing their skin pattern and colours, whether for camouflage or for signalling. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern, making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate.
Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier, and the leaf-mimic katydid's wings. A soldier applying camouflage face paint both helmet and jacket are disruptively patterned.Ĭamouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see, or by disguising them as something else.
