Crazy Camouflage
Instructions
Create a model that shows how a fish known as a flounder is able to blend into a variety of environments.
What You'll Need
![camo need](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_need/3064473-1-eng-US/camo_need_full_495.gif 331w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_need/3064473-1-eng-US/camo_need_full_990.gif 331w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_need/3064473-1-eng-US/camo_need_full_1468.gif 331w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_need/3064473-1-eng-US/camo_need_full_1980.gif 331w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_need/3064473-1-eng-US/camo_need_full_2475.gif 331w)
- flounder drawing (black-and-white printout)
- sandy seafloor background drawings (color printout or black-and-white printout)
- scissors
- crayons or colored pencils
- sandpaper, sand, pebbles, fabric, buttons, and other materials to create a model of the seafloor (optional)
- blue cellophane (optional)
What To Do
![1](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_01/2999807-2-eng-US/marinenumber_01_full_495.png 108w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_01/2999807-2-eng-US/marinenumber_01_full_990.png 108w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_01/2999807-2-eng-US/marinenumber_01_full_1468.png 108w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_01/2999807-2-eng-US/marinenumber_01_full_1980.png 108w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_01/2999807-2-eng-US/marinenumber_01_full_2475.png 108w)
Cut out the line drawing of the flounder.
![camo img1](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img1/3064526-1-eng-US/camo_img1_full_495.gif 201w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img1/3064526-1-eng-US/camo_img1_full_990.gif 201w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img1/3064526-1-eng-US/camo_img1_full_1468.gif 201w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img1/3064526-1-eng-US/camo_img1_full_1980.gif 201w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img1/3064526-1-eng-US/camo_img1_full_2475.gif 201w)
![2](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_02/2999819-3-eng-US/marinenumber_02_full_495.png 108w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_02/2999819-3-eng-US/marinenumber_02_full_990.png 108w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_02/2999819-3-eng-US/marinenumber_02_full_1468.png 108w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_02/2999819-3-eng-US/marinenumber_02_full_1980.png 108w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/general/marinenumber_02/2999819-3-eng-US/marinenumber_02_full_2475.png 108w)
Print out one of the backgrounds (color printout or black-and-white printout). Then use crayons or colored pencils to fill in the top of the flounder's body so that it blends in with the background.
NOTE: If you use the black-and-white background, color the background first, then color the flounder so the fish blends with the background.
![camo img2](/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img2/3064538-1-eng-US/camo_img2_full_495.gif 400w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img2/3064538-1-eng-US/camo_img2_full_990.gif 400w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img2/3064538-1-eng-US/camo_img2_full_1468.gif 400w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img2/3064538-1-eng-US/camo_img2_full_1980.gif 400w,/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/amnh/images/explore/ology-images/marine-biology/crazy-camoflauge/camo_img2/3064538-1-eng-US/camo_img2_full_2475.gif 400w)
Try More
Make Your Own Sea Floor
Take it to the next level by creating your own backgrounds from scratch! Try a rocky bottom or a coral reef .
You can decorate these environments with sandpaper, fabric, buttons, and so on. The main goal is to give the background a variety of colors and textures. Then use crayons to color the flounder so it hides well against the environment you created.
Looking Like Water
In water, a flounder is perfectly camouflaged. A predator looking up at a flounder from below wouldn't see it because the flounder can turn the color of water and blend in.
Print out another line drawing of a flounder and glue a piece of blue cellophane over it. Or color the other side (i.e. the non-sandy side) of the flounder a water color, as if it's in water, maybe adding wavy lines (waves), and hold clear cellophane over it. This shows how the flounder might look to a predator swimming below as the flounder swims along the surface.
Image Credits:
all photos: courtesy of AMNH