Step 1: Cutis marmorata is a transient pink-blue mottled or marbled skin pattern that appears when an infant is exposed to a cold environment.
Step 2: The mechanism is a vasomotor response of the superficial small dermal blood vessels, which dilate and constrict at the same time, producing the reticulated marbled look.
Step 3: It is normal in infancy, seen in about half of children, and rewarming the baby restores the skin to normal. Because the trigger is cold, the correct answer is cold temperature, and the distractors (dust, heat, humidity) do not cause this pattern.