Chamaeleo namaquensis is found in the desert of Namibia. To cool off it will sometimes bury itself in the sand.
The word Rieppeleon is named after the scientist Olivier Rieppel.
The word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.
The word Brookesia is named after the British naturalist Joshua Brookes.
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.
The word Furcifer is derived from the Latin word “furci” or forked.
The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
Chameleons change color by rearranging a lattice of nanocrystals in one of their top layers of skin cells called iridophores. Chameleons can then stretch this layer, broadening the nanocrystalline lattice, thereby causing it to reflect a different wavelength of light.