Chameleons have acrodont teeth meaning they are an extension of the jawbone. They are not set in sockets nor are they replaced.
Chameleon fossils have been found in central Europe and China, indicating they were once much more widespread than they are now.
The word Calumma comes from the Latin word for covering. This genus consists of chameleons from Madagascar with occipital lobes.
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.
The word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.
Chameleons have a high midichlorian count.
Trioceros goetzei (Goetze’s Chameleon) emits an audible, high pitched whistle when threatened.
The chameleon tongue accelerates towards its target at over 1642m per second. Chameleons rarely miss their intended food item.
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!