Many chameleon species have a bright red, orange or yellow mouth. This conspicuous interior when displayed is used as a defense against predators.
The word Furcifer is derived from the Latin word “furci” or forked.
Chameleons can project their tongue up to 2.2 times their body length.
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 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).
Pygmy chameleons have bicuspid claws where each claw has two points like a crescent moon.
Trioceros schubotzi can be found at elevations as high as 4500m.
Furcifer labordi (Labord’s Chameleon) has the shortest lifespan of only 4-5 months. It also has the shortest lifespan of any tetrapod!
Chameleon fossils have been found in central Europe and China, indicating they were once much more widespread than they are now.