The word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.
Trioceros goetzei (Goetze’s Chameleon) emits an audible, high pitched whistle when threatened.
The word Bradypodion comes from the latin “bradus podos” or slow foot.
Furcifer labordi (Labord’s Chameleon) has the shortest lifespan of only 4-5 months. It also has the shortest lifespan of any tetrapod!
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 largest chameleon species by weight is Calumma parsonii (Parson’s Chameleon).
The horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.
The word Furcifer is derived from the Latin word “furci” or forked.
The word Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.
The word Calumma comes from the Latin word for covering. This genus consists of chameleons from Madagascar with occipital lobes.