How much strangeness is too much for one animal? From color-changing skin to swiveling eyeballs, an extending tongue, and a dinosaur-like head, chameleons, like the flapneck chameleon, have it all. It makes sense that these completely innocuous lizards cause superstition and terror throughout rural Africa!

For example, the flapneck chameleon is one of the most prevalent species. Monumental Expeditions and Safaris’ animal enthusiasts have a strong affinity for exotic wildlife. Let’s tell you some fascinating facts.

The eyelids of chameleons’ conical eyes have fused, leaving only a pinhole for vision. They rotate on their own, giving the chameleon a 360º field of vision. For a precise hit, the eyes have stereoscopic depth awareness.

Madagascar is home to about half of the 160+ species of chameleons. Africa’s mainland is home to the majority of the remaining ones.

The tongue of a flapneck chameleon can extend as long as the length of its body. At about three hundredths of a second, it does this.
Under its transparent skin, a chameleon uses layers of specialized cells called chromatophores to change color.

These are made up of a combination of melanin, pigmented, and light-reflecting cells. Like paint on an artist’s palette, the reptile can work with these cells.
The Ancient Greek word khamaileon is Latinized as “chameleon.” The term, which roughly translates as “ground lion,” is derived from the words khamai (on the ground) and leon (lion). This alludes to the reptile’s menacing defensive posture, which includes lunges, hisses, and gapes.