Chameleon colours 'switched by crystals'

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                         The study was conducted on panther chameleons, which are popular pets

Swiss researchers have discovered how chameleons accomplish their vivid colour changes: they rearrange the crystals inside specialised skin cells.
It was previously suggested that the reptiles' famous ability came from gathering or dispersing coloured pigments inside different cells.
But the new results put it down to a "selective mirror" made of crystals.
They also reveal a second layer of the cells that reflect near-infrared light and might help the animals keep cool.
Reptiles make colours in two ways: they have cells full of pigment for warm or dark colours, but brighter blues and whites come from light bouncing off physical elements like these crystals: so-called "structural colours".
These colours can also be mixed. A vibrant green might arise from a structural blue overlaid by yellow pigment.
Some changes arise from shifting pigments. Tiny packets of the dark dye melanin, for example, can be spread throughout the tendrils of big "melanophore" cells - or gathered into the centre, to lighten the skin again. Many fish and reptiles grow lighter or darker in this way in response to stress, or to match their surroundings.
Panther chameleons, the subjects of the new study, do this as well. But males can also change between entirely different colours, turning a camouflaged green into a more spectacular yellow, for example, when they see a potential mate or a competitor.
Until now, many scientists had thought that these changes arose from a similar dispersion trick with yellow or red pigment. The new research suggests this is not the case.
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Beneath the layer of iridophores that contained a nice, regular lattice of crystals, the team also spotted an additional layer, where the cells were much bigger and more chaotically organised.
Because that higgledy-piggledy structure reflects near-infrared light particularly well, they believe it might serve to reflect the sun's warming rays and keep the chameleons cool.
This split appears to be unique to chameleons; other lizards tend to have their crystals arranged in a regular way to give bright colours, or a disorganised way that reflects the heat. With their added layer, chameleons manage to combine the two extremes.

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