Pygmy chameleons (Brookesia, Palleon, Rhampholeon and Rieppeleon sp.) often resemble dry leaves, mosses and branches.
The word Rieppeleon is named after the scientist Olivier Rieppel.
The word Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.
Some chameleons play dead to avoid predation; this is called thanatosis.
Kinyongia uthmoelleri and Trioceros quadricornis gracilor have red claws.
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.
Chameleon fossils have been found in central Europe and China, indicating they were once much more widespread than they are now.
The word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.
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!