Some bony fishes use color for camouflage, but others, particularly those living in the tropics, are among the most brightly colored animals in the sea. The colored pigments in bony fishes are mostly found in special cells in the skin called chromatophores. This whole process is termed as coloration.

These cells are irregular in shape and have branches radiating from the center. The amazing variety of colors and hues observed among marine fishes results from combinations of chromatophores with varying amounts of different pigments.