chameleon

Table of Contents

Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

How chameleons change color—and why

Watch: A chameleon's projectile tongue at work

jeweled chameleon (Furcifer lateralis)

How Europe's common chameleon hunts

flap-necked chameleon

panther chameleon

specialized chameleon and gecko eyes

For Students

chameleon summary

Read Next

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Chameleon on branch

How Do Chameleons Change Colour?

Monitor. Varanus salvadorii is a monitor lizard found in New Guinea can grows to 2.7 metres (9 ft.) aka Tree crocodile, Crocodile monitor, Salvadori's monitor, artellia, reptile

7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Lizards and Turtles

animal. Amphibian. Frog. Anura. Ranidae. Frog in grass.

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Slowworm. Anguis fragilis. Blindworm. Lizard. Anguidae. Close-up of a slowworm's head.

7 Questions About Lizards, Snakes, and Other Reptiles Answered

Discover

Horses. Equus caballus. Horse stable. A brown horse looks out from his stall through the window.

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Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics

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The Colosseum, Rome, Italy. Giant amphitheatre built in Rome under the Flavian emperors. (ancient architecture; architectural ruins)

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Dancers at a Cinco de Mayo festival at the Mission District, San Francisco, California. (Photo dated 2019.) holidays

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Polar bear leaping among ice floes at Spitsbergen, Svalbard archipelago, Norway, the Arctic. Sea ice climate change mammal jump global warming

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chameleon: Facts & Related Content

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As	Chamaeleonidae

Photos and Videos

jeweled chameleon (Furcifer lateralis)

flap-necked chameleon

panther chameleon

specialized chameleon and gecko eyes

How chameleons change color—and why

Watch: A chameleon's projectile tongue at work

How Europe's common chameleon hunts

See All Videos and Images →

Topics

Brookesia micra Madagascan chameleon nano-chameleon Iguania iguanid Agamidae

Quiz

Sea otter (Enhydra lutris), also called great sea otter, rare, completely marine otter of the northern Pacific, usually found in kelp beds. Floats on back. Looks like sea otter laughing. saltwater otters

Animal Group Names

Young chimpanzee dressed in a shirt and sweater vest, scratching his head thinking. (primates)

Wild Words from the Animal Kingdom Vocabulary Quiz

vulture. An adult bearded vulture at a raptor recovery center. The Gypaetus barbatus also known as the Lammergeier or Lammergeyer, is a bird of prey and considered an Old World vulture.

Animal Factoids

Mute swan with cygnet. (birds)

Match the Baby Animal to Its Mama Quiz

Lion (panthera leo)

Deadliest Animals Quiz

List

animal. Amphibian. Frog. Anura. Ranidae. Frog in grass.

Abundant Animals: The Most Numerous Organisms in the World

Monitor. Varanus salvadorii is a monitor lizard found in New Guinea can grows to 2.7 metres (9 ft.) aka Tree crocodile, Crocodile monitor, Salvadori's monitor, artellia, reptile

7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Lizards and Turtles

Slowworm. Anguis fragilis. Blindworm. Lizard. Anguidae. Close-up of a slowworm's head.

7 Questions About Lizards, Snakes, and Other Reptiles Answered