Trioceros goetzei (Goetze’s Chameleon) emits an audible, high pitched whistle when threatened.
Many chameleon species have a bright red, orange or yellow mouth. This conspicuous interior when displayed is used as a defense against predators.
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 chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
Chameleons have a very poor sense of smell.
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.
The word Bradypodion comes from the latin “bradus podos” or slow foot.
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 Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.