Pygmy chameleons (Brookesia, Palleon, Rhampholeon and Rieppeleon sp.) often resemble dry leaves, mosses and branches.
The word Calumma comes from the Latin word for covering. This genus consists of chameleons from Madagascar with occipital lobes.
The word Furcifer is derived from the Latin word “furci” or forked.
The process of shedding is called ecdysis.
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!
The word Bradypodion comes from the latin “bradus podos” or slow foot.
Chameleons can project their tongue up to 2.2 times their body length.
Chameleons do have taste buds on their tongue but overall they have a poor sense of taste.
The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
Many chameleon species have a bright red, orange or yellow mouth. This conspicuous interior when displayed is used as a defense against predators.