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.
Pygmy chameleons (Brookesia, Palleon, Rhampholeon and Rieppeleon sp.) often resemble dry leaves, mosses and branches.
Pygmy chameleons have bicuspid claws where each claw has two points like a crescent moon.
The word Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.
The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
Some chameleons play dead to avoid predation; this is called thanatosis.
Trioceros schubotzi can be found at elevations as high as 4500m.
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!
Chameleons have a high midichlorian count.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.