In the latter hours of her life, a female Furcifer labordi chameleon is observed exhibiting a hallucinogenic burst of colors.
Narrator Bumper Robinson states, “In her final moments, her skin bursts with color, as if uttering her last words.”
The phenomenon, which has never been observed in the wild before, was captured by scientists for a new PBS series called “Big Little Journeys.” According to LiveScience, “the process of chameleons’ skin changing color involves the expansion and contraction of unique cells containing nanocrystals, which modifies the way the cells reflect light.” The chameleon’s skin changes color and twinkles in the video like fireworks.”
“During death, nervous signals continue to transmit and to change the shape of the skin cells, creating the chaotic technicolor patterns that were captured,” series producer Valeria Fabbri-Kennedy and American Museum of Natural History herpetologist Chris Raxworthy say.