A specialized pigment cell in fish and amphibians that contains red or yellow pigment and can expand or contract to change the animal's coloration for camouflage or communication.
From Greek erythro- (red) + -phore (bearer). Named for carrying red pigment, these cells are part of the chromatophore system that gives aquatic animals their color-changing abilities.
Fish can control individual erythrophores through nerve signals in milliseconds—a chameleon takes seconds to change color, but a fish can flash patterns to communicate with mates or confuse predators almost instantaneously.
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