Figure-Ground Contrast
Disguise (cryptic coloration) [at rest] is only one aspect of nature's optical trickery. At the opposite extreme is display (warning coloration) [active], and often the same bird or insect will alternate between concealment and exhibition, hiding its brilliant patterns one moment and flaunting them the next.
[Harlan, Calvin. Vision & Invention, An Introduction to Art Fundamentals. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1986. pg. 159]
R E F E R E N C E S
Cryptic adj [LL crypticus, fr. Gk kryptikos, fr. kryptos] [ca. 1638] 1: Secret, Occult 2a: having or seeming to have a hidden or ambiguous meaning: Mysterious [__ messages] b: marked by an often perplexing brevity [__ marginal notes] 3: serving to conceal [__ coloration in animals]; also: exhibiting cryptic coloration [__ animals] 4: Unrecognized [a __ infection] 5: employing cipher or code
-syn . see Obscure
Cryptocrystalline [1862]: having a crystalline structure so fine that no distinct particles are recognizable under the microscope [__ quartz]
Cryptogenic adj [1908]: of obscure or unknown origin
Cryptogram [1880] 1: a communication in cipher or code 2: a figure or represenation having a hidden significance
[Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Springfield, MA, USA: Merriam-Webster, Inc. 1995.]
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