Chameleons can project their tongue up to 2.2 times their body length.
Chameleons have laterally compressed bodies. This enables them to warm up quickly by presenting a larger surface area to the sun. It also helps some chameleon species blend in among the similarly shaped leaves in their environment.
The word Brookesia is named after the British naturalist Joshua Brookes.
The smallest chameleon species is Brookesia micra with an adult length just over 1 inch (29mm). It hatches from an egg no bigger than a grain of rice!
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
Some chameleons play dead to avoid predation; this is called thanatosis.
The word Bradypodion comes from the latin “bradus podos” or slow foot.
The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
Pygmy chameleons are sometimes referred to as False Chameleons. This term is actually incorrect and is in reference to anoles, particularly the Cuban False Anole.
Pygmy chameleons (Brookesia, Palleon, Rhampholeon and Rieppeleon sp.) often resemble dry leaves, mosses and branches.