Scientists may have finally unlocked the mystery behind chameleons’ unique ability to change color.
The explanation is that the reptile’s skin is made up of tiny mirror-like crystals, contained within reflective pigment cells called iridophores. That’s according to a new study published in the journal Nature Communications.
When the chameleon gets excited, or anticipates danger, the iridophores expand or contract to enable the crystals to reflect different levels of light, thereby changing its skin color.
See The Best Biology Photos Of The Year
![Two Bisons on the Grand Prismatic Spring in Yellowstone National Park, Wyo.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/lukas-gawenda-bisons-on-grand-prismatic-spring-usa.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A spider at sunset in Predel, Bulgaria.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/krasimir-matarov-spider-from-another-world.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Parental care in parasitoid wasps Parental care in parasitoid wasps](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/thomas-endlein-parental-care-in-parasitoid-wasps.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![Siblings watering newly planted seedlings in Rizal, The Philippines.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/ysabel-victoriano-man-made-forest.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A leopard in its natural habitat in Karantaka, India.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/nagarjun-ram-courage-doesnt-always-roar.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A farmer protects his family and animals from mosquitos in Gujarat, India.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/dimple-pancholi-life-and-the-environment.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A tarsier in its natural habitat in Sulawesi, Indonesia.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/wolfgang-weinhardt-spectral-tarsier.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A plant takes advantage of the available shelter in a dilapidated house in Kolmanskop, Namibia.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/kelsey-green-striving-succulent.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A female blackbird holding a dried mealworm in her mouth in Lincolnshire, United Kingdom.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/billy-clapham-the-suburban-mum.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/robert-cabagnot-a-shelter-designed-by-nature.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![An adult female Italian crested newt stationed below the fresh water surface in Piedmont, Italy.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/matteo-di-nicola-a-lively-belly-in-the-freshwater.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
![A sea turtle eating a jellyfish in The Maldives.](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/boris-barath-meal-time.jpg?quality=75&w=2400)
The researchers used a combination of microscopy, high-resolution videography and color-based numerical modeling to arrive at this discovery.
“When the skin is in the relaxed state, the nanocrystals in the iridophore cells are very close to each other — hence, the cells specifically reflect short wavelengths, such as blue,” Michel Milinkovitch, a professor of genetics and evolution at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and the lead author of the study, told Live Science.
Milinkovitch further explained that, when excited, the nanocrystals spread further apart to reflect longer wavelengths like yellow, red and orange, which combine with blue to produce different hues.
If any of those hues is white, gold, black, or blue, we might just have chameleons breaking the Internet soon.
Read next: The Weird Reason Humans Shake Hands as a Greeting
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Breaking Down the 2024 Election Calendar
- How Nayib Bukele’s ‘Iron Fist’ Has Transformed El Salvador
- What if Ultra-Processed Foods Aren’t as Bad as You Think?
- How Ukraine Beat Russia in the Battle of the Black Sea
- Long COVID Looks Different in Kids
- How Project 2025 Would Jeopardize Americans’ Health
- What a $129 Frying Pan Says About America’s Eating Habits
- The 32 Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2024
Write to Rishi Iyengar at rishi.iyengar@timeasia.com