Camouflage Camouflage 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. Examples include the leopard's spotted coat, the b ...

is the concealment of animals or objects of military interest by any combination of methods that helps them to remain unnoticed. This includes the use of high-contrast disruptive patterns as used on

military uniforms A military uniform is a standardised dress worn by members of the armed forces and paramilitaries of various nations. Military dress and styles have gone through significant changes over the centuries, from colourful and elaborate, ornamente ...

, but anything that delays recognition can be used as camouflage. Camouflage involves deception, whether by looking like the background or by resembling something else, which may be plainly visible to observers.Cott, 1940. Chapter 1: General Colour Resemblance. pp. 5–19.Forbes, 2009. p. 51. This article lists methods used by animals and the military to escape notice.

Conventions used

Different camouflage methods employed by terrestrial, aerial, and aquatic animals, and in military usage, are compared in the table. Several methods are often combined, so for example the Bushbuck is both

countershaded Countershading, or Thayer's law, is a method of camouflage in which an animal's coloration is darker on the top or upper side and lighter on the underside of the body. This pattern is found in many species of mammals, reptiles, birds, fish, an ...

over its whole body, and disruptively coloured with small pale spots. Until the discovery of countershading in the 1890s, protective coloration was considered to be mainly a matter of colour matching, but while this is certainly important, a variety of other methods are used to provide effective camouflage. When an entry is marked Dominant, that method is used widely in that environment, in most cases. For example, countershading is very common among land animals, but not for military camouflage. The dominant camouflage methods on land are countershading and

disruptive coloration Disruptive coloration (also known as disruptive camouflage or disruptive patterning) is a form of camouflage that works by breaking up the outlines of an animal, soldier or military vehicle with a strongly contrasting pattern. It is often co ...

, supported by less frequent usage of many other methods.Cott, 1940. Part 1: Concealment. pp. 5–190. The dominant camouflage methods in the open ocean are transparency, reflection, and

counterillumination Counter-illumination is a method of active camouflage seen in marine animals such as firefly squid and midshipman fish, and in military prototypes, producing light to match their backgrounds in both brightness and wavelength. Marine animals of ...

. Transparency and reflectivity are dominant in the top of the ocean; counterillumination is dominant from down to . Most animals of the open sea use one or more of these methods.

Military camouflage Military camouflage is the use of camouflage by an armed force to protect personnel and equipment from observation by enemy forces. In practice, this means applying colour and materials to military equipment of all kinds, including vehicles, ...

relies predominantly on disruptive patterns, though methods such as outline disruption are also used, and others have been prototyped. In 1890 the English zoologist

Edward Bagnall Poulton Sir Edward Bagnall Poulton, FRS HFRSE FLS (27 January 1856 – 20 November 1943) was a British evolutionary biologist, a lifelong advocate of natural selection through a period in which many scientists such as Reginald Punnett doubted its i ...

categorised animal colours by their uses,Poulton, 1890. Fold-out after p. 339. which cover both camouflage and mimicry.Forbes, 2009. pp. 51–52. Poulton's categories were largely followed by

Hugh Cott Hugh Bamford Cott (6 July 1900 – 18 April 1987) was a British zoologist, an authority on both natural and military camouflage, and a scientific illustrator and photographer. Many of his field studies took place in Africa, where he was espec ...

in 1940. Relevant Poulton categories are listed in the table. Where Poulton's definition covers a method but does not name it explicitly, the category is named in parentheses.

Comparisons

References

Bibliography

* Barkas, Geoffrey; Barkas, Natalie (1952). ''The Camouflage Story (from Aintree to Alamein)''. Cassell. * Beddard, Frank Evers (1892). ''Animal Coloration: an account of the principal facts and theories relating to the colours and markings of animals''. Swan Sonnenschein. * Cott, Hugh (1940). ''

Adaptive Coloration in Animals ''Adaptive Coloration in Animals'' is a 500-page textbook about camouflage, warning coloration and mimicry by the Cambridge zoologist Hugh Cott, first published during the Second World War in 1940; the book sold widely and made him famous. The ...

''. Oxford University Press. * Forbes, Peter (2009). '' Dazzled and Deceived: Mimicry and Camouflage''. Yale. . * Herring, Peter (2002). ''The Biology of the Deep Ocean''. Oxford University Press. . * Newark, Tim (2007). ''Camouflage''. Thames and Hudson. . * Poulton, Edward Bagnall (1890). ''

The Colours of Animals ''The Colours of Animals'' is a zoology book written in 1890 by Sir Edward Bagnall Poulton (1856–1943). It was the first substantial textbook to argue the case for Darwinian selection applying to all aspects of animal coloration. The book ...

: their meaning and use especially considered in the case of insects''. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner. * Stevens, Martin; Merilaita, Sami (2011). ''Animal Camouflage''. Cambridge University Press. . * Wickler, Wolfgang (1968). ''Mimicry in plants and animals''. McGraw-Hill. {{DEFAULTSORT:Camouflage methods

Methods Method ( grc, μέθοδος, methodos) literally means a pursuit of knowledge, investigation, mode of prosecuting such inquiry, or system. In recent centuries it more often means a prescribed process for completing a task. It may refer to: *Scien ...

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