Can chameleons see colour?

[ChameleonRave]

Hi I am wondering if chameleons can see colour? In all of the resources that I have ever read never told me anything about them seeing colours....*
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[jamncristian]

yes they can but they need UVA to do so

 

[ChameleonRave]

Sweet! And sorry about that tab thing or w.e. Is lol facebook must have attached something in my iPod lol!

 

[Chris Anderson]

yes they can but they need UVA to do so

Not exactly. Like birds, chameleons seem to have tetrachromatic color vision, meaning they not only sense the 3 typical color wave lengths we do, but also a short wavelength in the ultra violet range. That means that they do detect the colors of visual light, similar to our vision but also have the ability to detect UV wavelengths in their vision. The result is that they probably see things differently then we do in the presence of UV wavelengths, but in their absence, their vision is probably more similar to ours, it just might be really strange to them missing input from their fourth receptor type.

Chris

 

[ChromaChameleons]

Chameleons also have a pineal gland that allows them to detect UVB. It is often refered to as "third eye", but should not be confused with vision equal to an eye that can detect colour shape and movement in the traditional sense. It is assumed that this gland is responsible for a chams ability to seek or avoid UVB .

 

[ChameleonRave]

Haha awesome!!!