Another defense mechanism possessed by many octopi is the ability to change color much like a chameleom most animals get their color from chemicals in the skin called chromatophores (melanin is one of these chromatophores) chromatophores might contain yellow orange red brown or black pigments and the amount of each pigment present in the skin determines an animal's color while most animals are always the same clolr some species of octopi can control of each color pigment in their skin cells allowing them to change color some poisonous octopi when provoked will change their skin to a bright eye-catching color to warn predators that they are dangerous and ready to strike other octopi use this ability to change their skin to the color and texture of seaweed or coral allowing them to blend in with their environment finally some octopi-such as the mimic octopus-use this color-changing ability to masquerade as another type of animal the body of an octopus is highly flexible and some species can combine this flexibility with their color-changing skills to make themselves ressmble omre dangerous animals such as sea snakes or eels