The word Calumma comes from the Latin word for covering. This genus consists of chameleons from Madagascar with occipital lobes.
Furcifer oustaleti (Oustalet’s Chameleon) is the longest chameleon species reaching lengths of 27 inches (68cm).
The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
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 horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.
Chameleons have acrodont teeth meaning they are an extension of the jawbone. They are not set in sockets nor are they replaced.
Furcifer labordi (Labord’s Chameleon) has the shortest lifespan of only 4-5 months. It also has the shortest lifespan of any tetrapod!
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!