Many chameleon species have a bright red, orange or yellow mouth. This conspicuous interior when displayed is used as a defense against predators.
The word Brookesia is named after the British naturalist Joshua Brookes.
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.
Chameleon fossils have been found in central Europe and China, indicating they were once much more widespread than they are now.
Some chameleons play dead to avoid predation; this is called thanatosis.
The process of shedding is called ecdysis.
Furcifer oustaleti (Oustalet’s Chameleon) is the longest chameleon species reaching lengths of 27 inches (68cm).
The word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.
True chameleons include the following genera: Archaius, Bradypodion, Brookesia, Calumma, Chamaeleo, Furcifer, Kinyongia, Nadzikambia, Palleon, Rhampholeon, Rieppeleon and Trioceros.
Chameleons do have taste buds on their tongue but overall they have a poor sense of taste.