Pygmy chameleons (Brookesia, Palleon, Rhampholeon and Rieppeleon sp.) often resemble dry leaves, mosses and branches.
The word Brookesia is named after the British naturalist Joshua Brookes.
The horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.
The process of shedding is called ecdysis.
Many chameleon species have a bright red, orange or yellow mouth. This conspicuous interior when displayed is used as a defense against predators.
Pygmy chameleons have bicuspid claws where each claw has two points like a crescent moon.
Chameleons do not have external ears or a tympanic membrane, but they do have internal ears as well as degenerated middle ears. They do not hear well but they can detect low frequency sounds.
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 Calumma comes from the Latin word for covering. This genus consists of chameleons from Madagascar with occipital lobes.
Chameleons have a high midichlorian count.