CHAMELEONS
or CHAMAELEONS
(family Chamaeleonidae)
Thanks
to Zhang Weifeng
Received:
Sept. 23, 2016
- are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species
described as of June 2015. These species
come in a range of colors, and many species have the ability to change colors.
Color change in it has functions in camouflage, but most commonly in social
signaling and in reactions to temperature and other conditions. The relative
importance of these functions varies with the circumstances, as well as the
species. Color change signals a chameleon's physiological condition and
intentions to other chameleons.
Chameleons tend to show brighter colors when displaying aggressively to
other chameleons, and darker colors when they submit or "give up".
Some species, adjust their colors for
camouflage in accordance with the vision of the specific predator species (bird
or snake) by which they are being threatened.
All chameleons are primarily insectivores
that feed by ballistic projecting their long tongues from their mouths to
capture prey located some distance away.
Most species, the larger ones in
particular, also have a prehensile tail. Chameleons have the most distinctive
eyes of any reptile. Each eye can pivot and focus independently, allows it to
observe two different objects simultaneously. Chameleons are adapted for
climbing and visual hunting. They live in warm habitats that range from rain
forest to desert conditions, various species occurring in Africa, Madagascar, southern
Europe, and across southern Asia as far as Sri Lanka. They also have been
introduced to Hawaii, California, and Florida, and often are kept as household
pets.
