The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
Chamaeleo namaquensis is found in the desert of Namibia. To cool off it will sometimes bury itself in the sand.
Chameleons can project their tongue up to 2.2 times their body length.
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!
Pygmy chameleons are sometimes referred to as False Chameleons. This term is actually incorrect and is in reference to anoles, particularly the Cuban False Anole.
The word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.
The oldest known chameleon fossil is from the extinct species Chamaeleo caroliquarti. It was found in Europe and is 26 million years old.
Furcifer oustaleti (Oustalet’s Chameleon) is the longest chameleon species reaching lengths of 27 inches (68cm).
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.