The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
True chameleons include the following genera: Archaius, Bradypodion, Brookesia, Calumma, Chamaeleo, Furcifer, Kinyongia, Nadzikambia, Palleon, Rhampholeon, Rieppeleon and Trioceros.
Chameleons have a very poor sense of smell.
The largest chameleon species by weight is Calumma parsonii (Parson’s Chameleon).
The word Rieppeleon is named after the scientist Olivier Rieppel.
Trioceros goetzei (Goetze’s Chameleon) emits an audible, high pitched whistle when threatened.
Chameleons have acrodont teeth meaning they are an extension of the jawbone. They are not set in sockets nor are they replaced.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
The word Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.
The word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.