Chameleons do have taste buds on their tongue but overall they have a poor sense of taste.
Furcifer labordi (Labord’s Chameleon) has the shortest lifespan of only 4-5 months. It also has the shortest lifespan of any tetrapod!
True chameleons include the following genera: Archaius, Bradypodion, Brookesia, Calumma, Chamaeleo, Furcifer, Kinyongia, Nadzikambia, Palleon, Rhampholeon, Rieppeleon and Trioceros.
Trioceros goetzei (Goetze’s Chameleon) emits an audible, high pitched whistle when threatened.
Trioceros schubotzi can be found at elevations as high as 4500m.
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.
Some chameleons play dead to avoid predation; this is called thanatosis.
Pygmy chameleons have bicuspid claws where each claw has two points like a crescent moon.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
The word Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.