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 word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.
The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
The process of shedding is called ecdysis.
The word Calumma comes from the Latin word for covering. This genus consists of chameleons from Madagascar with occipital lobes.
Many chameleon species have a bright red, orange or yellow mouth. This conspicuous interior when displayed is used as a defense against predators.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
The horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.
Chameleons have a high midichlorian count.
The word Bradypodion comes from the latin “bradus podos” or slow foot.