The word Kinyongia is from the Swahili word for chameleons: Kinyonga.
The largest chameleon species by weight is Calumma parsonii (Parson’s Chameleon).
The horns on a chameleon are made up of ringlike segments of inner bone covered by a hard keratin-like skin.
There are currently 202 recognized chameleon species and 85 of them are found on the island of Madagascar.
Chameleons change color by rearranging a lattice of nanocrystals in one of their top layers of skin cells called iridophores. Chameleons can then stretch this layer, broadening the nanocrystalline lattice, thereby causing it to reflect a different wavelength of light.
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 Calumma comes from the Latin word for covering. This genus consists of chameleons from Madagascar with occipital lobes.
The word Rhampholeon is taken from the Latinized Greek “rhamphos leon” meaning crawling lion.
The smallest chameleon species is Brookesia micra with an adult length just over 1 inch (29mm). It hatches from an egg no bigger than a grain of rice!
Trioceros goetzei (Goetze’s Chameleon) emits an audible, high pitched whistle when threatened.