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The striking color-changing skin and lightning tongues of the chameleons make them some of the most extraordinary lizards in the world. But did you know that one type of chameleon lives longer in an egg than outside of it? Or that their bones glow in the dark? Let’s move on to our list of ten incredible facts about chameleons:
10. The smallest chameleon in the world is very tiny
Brookesia Nana it is the tiniest chameleon species of all, and it is so tiny that its entire body can fit on the tip of your finger. With regard to the size of sunflower seeds, scientists believe their small size is due, at least in part, to miniaturization, an evolutionary process that animals go through to adapt to environments with limited space or resources.
There were only two observations Brookesia today: one man and one woman. Scientists confirmed that these animals were adults by observing the female ovaries, in which the eggs were found, and the shape of the male genitals, which determines the age of the chameleons.
9. Chameleon Laborda spends most of his life in the form of an egg.
Laborde’s chameleons spend more time in incubation than in the wild! These incredible creatures develop eight to nine months before hatching, only to spend a surprisingly short life – four to five months outside of their eggs.
Their entire lifespan of just 12 to 14 months makes them some of the shortest living animals on the planet!
No. 8. Most chameleons don’t change colors to blend in with them.
If you’ve ever seen Monsters, Inc., you know Randall, a chameleon-like lizard that changes color to hide from unsuspecting children. However, you might be surprised to learn that chameleons don’t just change their color to blend in with their surroundings.
In fact, many chameleons are limited to just a few colors, making it impossible to mix with unlimited backgrounds.
Chameleons can also use their unusual color-changing abilities to communicate with other chameleons, reflect their mood, and even regulate their body temperature!
No. 7. Chameleons have no ears
Chameleons have an incredible ability Feel sounds. Since they lack ears and eardrums, they must instead rely on vibrational sensations to identify threats in the world around them. They can hear some sounds, but not much – they can only detect sounds in the 200-600 hertz range.
This means that if you want to talk to a chameleon, you will need to do it at a certain height for them to hear it!
No. 6. Chameleons are at least 100 million years old!
Fossils discovered by scientists in 2016 suggest chameleons date back to the time of the dinosaurs!
One lizard found trapped in amber, at least 100 million years old, is 78 million years older than any previously found. This prehistoric chameleon did not have the fused toes that modern chameleons do, but clues in its jaw indicated that it had a common projectile tongue.
No. 5. These tiny chameleons vibrate to ward off predators
Brookesia and Palleon chameleons are some of the tiniest chameleons in the world, measuring 3 inches or less. Due to their small size and inability to change color, their evolutionary traits allow them to defend themselves in another way: by vibrating with their body.
Scientists believe these chameleons use vibration to force enemies to abandon them. It is believed that these vibrations occur in the muscles between the chameleon’s ribs.
# 4 Voelzkov’s chameleon recently reappeared after being missing for over 100 years!
If you’ve ever lost something for a long time, you can feel the excitement that scientists probably experienced when they discovered a chameleon that hasn’t been seen in over 100 years! Much to their surprise, this chameleon was not found in the forest; instead, they found three men and 15 women in an overgrown hotel garden in Madagascar.
# 3 Chameleons are almost blind in the dark
Have you ever experienced temporary blindness when walking from a bright room into a dark one? This is the experience of chameleons every night, except that their eyes never adjust to the dark. Because the photoreceptors in their eyes are made up of more cones than rods, they see the world mostly by color without much contrast. This means that when it is dark outside, their vision is severely impaired, almost blind.
# 2 Chameleon bones glow in the dark
Have you ever seen a velvet poster glowing in black light? This is what scientists have concluded that chameleon bones can do when exposed to ultraviolet light. During the study, scientists found that when exposed to ultraviolet light, the bones of chameleons glow in different shades of blue, visible through their skin. If that wasn’t enough, they also observed whole patterns on the chameleon’s skin that were not visible to the naked eye.
This is even more interesting because chameleons can see ultraviolet light with the naked eye – an ability that humans do not have. This suggests that chameleons see each other in a completely different light than we do – this is not a pun.
1. One chameleon’s tongue is faster than the fastest sports car.
A rosette-nosed pygmy may be tiny, but its tongue has a powerful punch. Launched from an impressive 8500 feet per second. second, the speed of this chameleon’s tongue is higher than that of spaceships and jet fighters.
More interestingly, the speed of this chameleon’s tongue makes it one of the fastest accelerating animals on the planet.
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