The word Rieppeleon is named after the scientist Olivier Rieppel.
The word Calumma comes from the Latin word for covering. This genus consists of chameleons from Madagascar with occipital lobes.
The oldest known chameleon fossil is from the extinct species Chamaeleo caroliquarti. It was found in Europe and is 26 million years old.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
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.
Chameleons do have taste buds on their tongue but overall they have a poor sense of taste.
Trioceros schubotzi can be found at elevations as high as 4500m.
True chameleons include the following genera: Archaius, Bradypodion, Brookesia, Calumma, Chamaeleo, Furcifer, Kinyongia, Nadzikambia, Palleon, Rhampholeon, Rieppeleon and Trioceros.
The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.