There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
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 word Brookesia is named after the British naturalist Joshua Brookes.
The horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.
Pygmy chameleons have bicuspid claws where each claw has two points like a crescent moon.
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.
Chamaeleo namaquensis is found in the desert of Namibia. To cool off it will sometimes bury itself in the sand.
Some chameleons play dead to avoid predation; this is called thanatosis.