Many chameleon species have a bright red, orange or yellow mouth. This conspicuous interior when displayed is used as a defense against predators.
Chameleons have acrodont teeth meaning they are an extension of the jawbone. They are not set in sockets nor are they replaced.
The word Brookesia is named after the British naturalist Joshua Brookes.
The word Bradypodion comes from the latin “bradus podos” or slow foot.
The word Chamaeleo is derived via Latin from the Greek word khamaileon. It roughly translates to ground lion. Khamai means on the ground and leon means lion.
The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
The horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.
The oldest known chameleon fossil is from the extinct species Chamaeleo caroliquarti. It was found in Europe and is 26 million years old.
Trioceros goetzei (Goetze’s Chameleon) emits an audible, high pitched whistle when threatened.
The word Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.