Animals Hidden in Plain Sight

Survival of the fittest? More like survival of the least-likely-to-be-seen. Whether hiding from predators or secretly waiting to ambush prey themselves, these colorful critters are masters of disguise and have, with evolution's help, perfected the art of camouflage. And as a special treat for our naturalist readers, we’ve included each animal’s scientific name.

Thomas Marent/Minden Pictures/Getty Images Pretty in Pink Orchid Mantis   (Hymenopus coronatus) Stephen Frink/Image Source/Getty Images Spot the Seahorse? Pygmy Seahorse   (Hippocampus bargibanti) Ullstein bild via Getty Images Twinning Pygmy Seahorses   (Hippocampus denise) Thomas Marent/Minden Pictures/Getty Images Leaf Peeper Moth   (Gastropacha quercifolia) Steve Winter/National Geographic/Getty Images Eye of the Tiger Tiger  (Panthera tigris) Thomas Marent/Minden Pictures/Getty Images Spreading Wing Saturniid Moth   (Rhodinia fugax) KarSol/iStock/Getty Images Stick It Walking Stick Insect  (Diapheromera femorata) Thomas Marent/Minden Pictures/Getty Images Shaded in Chartreuse Green Spider   (Micrommata virescens) Auscape/UIG via Getty Images Going Green Leaf-Mimicking Katydid  (Pterophylla camellifolia) Martin Harvey/Corbis/Getty Images More Than Meets the Eye Saltwater Crocodile  (Crocodylus porosus) Barcroft Media via Getty Images Barking Down the Wrong Tree Leaf-Tail Gecko  (Uroplatus phantasticus) Thomas Marent/Minden Pictures/Getty Images Brown Study Leaf-Tail Gecko  (Uroplatus phantasticus) scubaluna/iStock/Getty Images Eyes Have It Wide-Eyed Flounder   (Bothus podas) Borut Furlan/WaterFrame/Getty Images Toothsome Stargazer Fish  (Uranoscopus bicinctus) KeithSzafranski/E+/Getty Images 50 Shades of... Gray Tree Frog  (Hyla versicolor) Barcroft Media via Getty Images Spinning Illusions Long-Spinnered Bark Spider  (Hersilia sericea) Noorhussain/iStock/Getty Images Who Me? Pallid Scops Owl  (Otus brucei) Matthias Breiter/Minden Pictures/Getty Images Wintry Wonder Arctic Fox  (Vulpes lagopus)