CHAMELEONSAAMIR RAZA

CHAMELEONS

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Chameleon, a tree-dwelling lizard having the ability to change color and to move each eye independently. The color change is involuntary, contrary to common belief, and is brought about by light, temperature, and nervous stimulation such as anger or fear. It is not related to the color of the substance on which the chameleon happens to be.

Under ordinary conditions, the rough skin of the chameleon is a dull brownish-

green. Under stresses of fear or anger, the color changes to a vivid green; it turns

brown or yellowish-gray in response to hunger, low temperatures, and strong sunlight.

The males of some species may display a brilliant red dewlap (a loose fold of skin under

the throat) during courtship or in combat.

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A chameleon is able to change its skin color quickly. This lizard may be green, yellow, or white one minute, and brown or black the next. Chameleons also may become spotted. The chameleon’s color is controlled by body chemicals called hormones (HAWR mohnz).

Many people believe chameleons change color to blend with their surroundings in order to hide from predators. This, however, is not true. Chameleons actually change their color depending on the air temperature or the amount of light, though most often the animal changes color because of its mood.

The skin of a chameleon is see-through, or transparent. The chameleon has cells underneath this skin that contain pigment (a natural substance that controls the color of tissues in animals). By increasing the size of certain pigment cells and decreasing the size of other pigment cells, the chameleon changes color. For instance, if a chameleon decreases the size of its black-pigment cells and increases the size of its yellow, its skin changes from black to yellow.

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Chameleons generally eat insects such as locusts, mantids, grasshoppers, stick insects, and crickets. Some larger chameleons have been known to also eat small birds and other lizards. A few species have been known to eat a bit of plant material. Chameleons don’t move around very fast, so they use their incredibly long tongues to catch the insects they eat. They are able to stick the tongue out of their mouth very quickly.

The tongue has a st icky t ip on the end to snag prey i tems that they would otherwise never be able to catch. The end of the tongue is a bal l of muscle, and as i t h its i ts prey, i t rapidly forms a smal l suct ion cup. Once the prey st icks to the tongue, the chameleon draws i t back into the mouth, where i ts strong jaws crush i t for swal lowing. Even smal l chameleons are able to eat large insects. The tongue is kept bunched up at the back of the mouth unt i l i t is needed again.

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The chameleon’s eyes are the most dist inct ive among the rept i les. Each eye has a scaly l id shaped l ike a cone, with only a smal l , round opening in the middle for the pupi l . The chameleon can rotate and focus i ts eyes separately to look at two dif ferent objects at the same t ime! This g ives i t a fu l l 360-degree v iew around i ts body. When the chameleon sees prey, both eyes can focus in the same direct ion to get a c learer v iew. Chameleons have very good eyesight for rept i les, lett ing them see smal l insects from a 5– to 10-m distance.

Chameleons can see in both v is ible and ultraviolet l ight Chameleons exposed to ultraviolet l ight show increased socia l behavior and act iv i ty levels, are more incl ined to bask and feed, and are also more l ikely to reproduce, as i t has a posit ive effect on the pineal g land.

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Chameleons do not require human interaction, and some would argue that it would be better to avoid contact with them as much as possible since it could cause them undue stress. While this may be true of wild caught chameleons, it is not necessari ly true of bred chameleons which are raised in human environments.

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Unl ike most l i zards, the chameleon i s not s lender and swi f t . Inc lud ing the ta i l the length of some pygmy chameleons i s four inches (10 cm) . The largest spec ies , found in East Afr ica , i s a lmost two feet (60 cm) long. The head has a hoodl ike rear pro ject ion . Its feet are adapted to grasp ing , each foot hav ing f i ve toes ar ranged in p incer- l i ke groups of two and three. The ta i l can be wrapped around twigs .

Like snakes, chameleons do not have an outer or a middle ear, so there i s ne i ther an ear opening nor an eardrum. However, chameleons are not deaf : they can detect sound f requenc ies in the range of 200–600 Hz.

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There are more than 135 d i f ferent spec ies of chameleons known today. Chameleons vary great ly in s ize and body st ructure, w i th max imum tota l lengths vary ing f rom 15 mm (0.59 in) in male Brookes ia micra (one of the wor ld ’s smal lest rept i les) to 68 .5 cm (27.0 in) in the male Furc i fer ousta let i .Many have head or fac ia l ornamentat ion , such as nasa l protrus ions, or horn- l i ke pro ject ions in the case of Tr ioceros jacksoni i , or la rge crests on top of the i r heads, l i ke Chamaeleo ca lyptratus. Many spec ies are sexua l ly d imorphic , and males are typ ica l l y much more ornamented than the female chameleons.

Chameleons are pr imar i l y found in the main land of sub-Saharan Afr ica and on the i s land of Madagascar, a l though a few spec ies are a lso found in nor thern Afr ica , southern Europe, the Middle East , southern India , Sr i Lanka and severa l smal ler i s lands in the western Indian Ocean.

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