The word Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.
Some chameleons play dead to avoid predation; this is called thanatosis.
Pygmy chameleons (Brookesia, Palleon, Rhampholeon and Rieppeleon sp.) often resemble dry leaves, mosses and branches.
The word Furcifer is derived from the Latin word “furci” or forked.
The horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.
Chameleon fossils have been found in central Europe and China, indicating they were once much more widespread than they are now.
Chameleons can project their tongue up to 2.2 times their body length.
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 process of shedding is called ecdysis.
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.