Trioceros goetzei (Goetze’s Chameleon) emits an audible, high pitched whistle when threatened.
The horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.
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.
Chameleons can project their tongue up to 2.2 times their body length.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
The word Bradypodion comes from the latin “bradus podos” or slow foot.
Furcifer labordi (Labord’s Chameleon) has the shortest lifespan of only 4-5 months. It also has the shortest lifespan of any tetrapod!
Pygmy chameleons (Brookesia, Palleon, Rhampholeon and Rieppeleon sp.) often resemble dry leaves, mosses and branches.
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!
Chamaeleo namaquensis is found in the desert of Namibia. To cool off it will sometimes bury itself in the sand.