The colors of an octopus that has not been bothered
Most of the time the rings are faint. The resting palette is sand, ochre, and a low yellow, with texture doing as much work as color.
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Category: The rings
How the warning color is made and when it is used.
Blue that is built, not dyed
Iridophores make color the way a film of oil does, by structure. That is why the rings seem to glow rather than sit flat on the skin.
Read the noteHow the rings switch on
The blue is structural color, uncovered by muscle in about a third of a second. Dark pigment around each ring makes the contrast.
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