Chameleons have a very poor sense of smell.
The oldest known chameleon fossil is from the extinct species Chamaeleo caroliquarti. It was found in Europe and is 26 million years old.
The word Furcifer is derived from the Latin word “furci” or forked.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
Many chameleon species have a bright red, orange or yellow mouth. This conspicuous interior when displayed is used as a defense against predators.
Some chameleons play dead to avoid predation; this is called thanatosis.
True chameleons include the following genera: Archaius, Bradypodion, Brookesia, Calumma, Chamaeleo, Furcifer, Kinyongia, Nadzikambia, Palleon, Rhampholeon, Rieppeleon and Trioceros.
The word Bradypodion comes from the latin “bradus podos” or slow foot.
Chamaeleo namaquensis is found in the desert of Namibia. To cool off it will sometimes bury itself in the sand.
The horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.