| Title |
Photonic crystals cause active colour change in chameleons
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Nature Communications, March 2015
|
| DOI | 10.1038/ncomms7368 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Jérémie Teyssier, Suzanne V. Saenko, Dirk van der Marel, Michel C. Milinkovitch |
| Abstract |
Many chameleons, and panther chameleons in particular, have the remarkable ability to exhibit complex and rapid colour changes during social interactions such as male contests or courtship. It is generally interpreted that these changes are due to dispersion/aggregation of pigment-containing organelles within dermal chromatophores. Here, combining microscopy, photometric videography and photonic band-gap modelling, we show that chameleons shift colour through active tuning of a lattice of guanine nanocrystals within a superficial thick layer of dermal iridophores. In addition, we show that a deeper population of iridophores with larger crystals reflects a substantial proportion of sunlight especially in the near-infrared range. The organization of iridophores into two superposed layers constitutes an evolutionary novelty for chameleons, which allows some species to combine efficient camouflage with spectacular display, while potentially providing passive thermal protection. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 682 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Japan | 120 | 18% |
| United States | 59 | 9% |
| United Kingdom | 22 | 3% |
| India | 11 | 2% |
| France | 8 | 1% |
| Switzerland | 6 | <1% |
| Australia | 6 | <1% |
| Spain | 4 | <1% |
| Netherlands | 4 | <1% |
| Other | 50 | 7% |
| Unknown | 392 | 57% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 593 | 87% |
| Scientists | 70 | 10% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 11 | 2% |
| Practitioners (doctors, other healthcare professionals) | 8 | 1% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 1,249 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 17 | 1% |
| United Kingdom | 5 | <1% |
| Brazil | 3 | <1% |
| Germany | 2 | <1% |
| South Africa | 2 | <1% |
| Spain | 2 | <1% |
| Japan | 2 | <1% |
| France | 2 | <1% |
| Hungary | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 12 | <1% |
| Unknown | 1201 | 96% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 266 | 21% |
| Student > Bachelor | 195 | 16% |
| Researcher | 165 | 13% |
| Student > Master | 158 | 13% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 62 | 5% |
| Other | 163 | 13% |
| Unknown | 240 | 19% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 203 | 16% |
| Physics and Astronomy | 144 | 12% |
| Chemistry | 144 | 12% |
| Materials Science | 136 | 11% |
| Engineering | 135 | 11% |
| Other | 215 | 17% |
| Unknown | 272 | 22% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 1480. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 30 January 2024.
All research outputs
#8,172
of 25,769,258 outputs
Outputs from Nature Communications
#164
of 58,053 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#62
of 275,971 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Nature Communications
#1
of 770 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,769,258 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 99th percentile: it's in the top 5% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 58,053 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 55.5. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 770 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has done particularly well, scoring higher than 99% of its contemporaries.