Furcifer oustaleti (Oustalet’s Chameleon) is the longest chameleon species reaching lengths of 27 inches (68cm).
Chameleons have a high midichlorian count.
Some chameleons play dead to avoid predation; this is called thanatosis.
Furcifer labordi (Labord’s Chameleon) has the shortest lifespan of only 4-5 months. It also has the shortest lifespan of any tetrapod!
Chameleons have a very poor sense of smell.
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 have laterally compressed bodies. This enables them to warm up quickly by presenting a larger surface area to the sun. It also helps some chameleon species blend in among the similarly shaped leaves in their environment.
The word Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.
The process of shedding is called ecdysis.
The word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.