Chromatophore

Chromatophores are special cells that can change color. They're kind of like little paint factories inside an animal's skin, and they can make different colors of "paint" depending on what the animal needs to blend in with its surroundings or communicate with other animals.

Imagine you're playing hide-and-seek and you want to hide really well. You might wear clothes that match the color of the walls or trees around you. That's kind of like what chromatophores do, but instead of clothes, they're part of an animal's skin.

When an animal wants to change its color, the chromatophores start making different pigments (which are like different colors of paint) and putting them together in different patterns. This can happen really fast, sometimes in just a few seconds!

Some animals, like chameleons and octopuses, are really good at using chromatophores to hide from predators or sneak up on prey. Other animals, like squids and cuttlefish, use chromatophores to communicate with other members of their species by changing colors and patterns on their skin.

So basically, chromatophores are really cool cells that help animals change color and stay safe in their environments.