CHAMELEONOLOGY: 

Reality: Nonsense. Dangerous nonsense.

Despite decades of research, breeding trials, and a growing body of scholarly and popular publications, the digital landscape surrounding chameleon care is catastrophically polluted. Even with commendable efforts from a handful of high-quality Facebook groups and forums, the internet remains a chaotic swamp of misinformation, where fragments of...

Chamaeleo laevigatus, a close relative of C. senegalensis, is a subtle master of camouflage adapted to the dry grassy savannas of the Sahel and East Africa. Its slender body and muted coloration mirror the brittle stems and sun-bleached blades of its habitat, allowing it to vanish in plain sight. Evolution has favored not flamboyance but...

The chameleons are very unique creatures that attract human attention for millennia. They are a focus of many scientific studies as well as subject of captive husbandry.

In the montane grasslands of Golden Gate Highlands National Park, a cryptic lineage of Bradypodion chameleons persists—small, elusive, and masterfully camouflaged. First documented in the early 1990s on newly incorporated farmland, these populations represent undisturbed remnants of a natural system, unaltered by urban development.

Every year, Madagascar burns. And every year, the heat, the smoke, and the devastating flames deepen the wounds of a landscape already scarred by centuries of degradation. Especially in the west, where the dry season stretches endlessly and rainfall grows ever more scarce, the fires carve irreparable damage into the soil, the forests, and the lives...

Ekhator et al. (2023) deliver the first detailed kinematic analysis of the Brown Leaf Chameleon (Brookesia superciliaris), a terrestrial Malagasy species whose locomotor behavior has been largely ignored in favor of larger arboreal chameleons. Using high-speed videography and spatiotemporal gait analysis, the authors document how this miniature...

Calumma malthe is a distinctive chameleon species endemic to Madagascar's eastern rainforests, with confirmed populations in Andasibe, Anjanaharibe-Sud, and Marojejy National Parks. It is strictly forest-dependent, favoring dense evergreen vegetation with high humidity, often near small rivers. Individuals are typically found at night,...

The article by Stanton-Jones et al. (2025), titled A multi-index approach to assessing foraging mode: a case study using chameleons, presents a compelling reevaluation of foraging mode classification in squamate reptiles. Using the Cape Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion pumilum) as a focal species, the authors challenge the long-standing dichotomy...

Chameleons' Paired Hemipenes: Function, Ornamentation, and Shedding Dynamics

Calumma brevicorne, a medium-sized chameleon endemic to Madagascar, is frequently encountered in the humid montane forests of Andasibe. Known for its cryptic coloration and elaborate cranial ornamentation, like medium sized convex casque adorned with large occipital lobes and rostral crests fusing about the mouth tip in a strong knob-like appendage...

The study by Zeng, Anderson & Deban (2025) is a masterclass in comparative biomechanics and evolutionary biology. Published in Current Biology, this article explores the convergent evolution of ballistic tongue mechanisms in salamanders and chameleons—two distantly related clades that have independently developed high-speed tongue projection...

The Curse of Dinosaurs and Humans

Photo courtesy Patrick Andriamihaja

The Carpet Chameleon is renowned for its exceptionally broad spectrum of adult coloration and patterning, ranging from vivid greens, blues, yellows, oranges, whites, and blacks to intricate banding and lateral markings. This species undergoes a stepwise ontogenetic transformation, beginning with a cryptic, subdued juvenile coloration that gradually...

Why The Hornworms Are Blue And Not Green?

In his 2020 paper published in Archaius (1(1): 1–3), Petr Nečas introduces a previously undocumented defensive behavior in chameleons: tongue punching. Traditionally, the ballistic tongue of chameleons has been studied almost exclusively in the context of prey capture—an extraordinary adaptation for precision feeding. However, Nečas presents...

Trioceros harennae, the Harenna hornless chameleon, is a high-altitude specialist endemic to Ethiopia's Bale Mountains. First described by Largen in 1995, this species is found exclusively in the misty forests and shrublands of the Harenna escarpment, typically between 2,400 and 3,300 meters elevation.

If Muhammad Ali floated like a butterfly and stung like a bee, then the chameleon tongue is nature's answer to a spring-loaded uppercut—silent, sticky, and faster than your neurons can scream "duck!"

A recent online debate in one US-based chameleon community (identity unrevealed for colleagial and ethical reasons) spiraled into what can only be described as reptilian math madness. The question: if a chameleon were scaled up to human height, how much would it weigh?

A short communication compiles seven confirmed cases of avian predation on the Indian chameleon (Chamaeleo zeylanicus) between 2012 and 2023, based on field observations from India and Sri Lanka. All records involve C. zeylanicus as prey, highlighting its vulnerability to a diverse range of bird species.

Sagi and Bouskila (2025) present the first documented case of yearly allochrony in a terrestrial vertebrate, focusing on the annual chameleon Chamaeleo chamaeleon musae in the Negev desert. Allochrony refers to reproductive isolation caused by differences in timing, and while it has been observed in marine and insect taxa, it had not previously...

A two-year field study conducted in the fragmented littoral forests of Sainte Luce, southeastern Madagascar, documented 76 species of amphibians and reptiles:

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In a study published in the Eurasian Journal of Veterinary Sciences (2025), researcher Gokhan Eren documents the first known case of Hyalomma aegyptium tick infestation on the Mediterranean chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) in Türkiye. This discovery marks a novel host-parasite relationship and expands the known host range of Hy. aegyptium, a tick...

In their 2022 study published in Zoological and Entomological Letters, Kouadio Atta Léonard and colleagues confirmed the presence of seven lizard species in Taï National Park, southwestern Côte d'Ivoire—including the first documented occurrence of the graceful chameleon (Chamaeleo gracilis) in this protected area.

A study documents a significant range extension for the endangered chameleon species Calumma vencesi, previously known only from three localities in northeastern Madagascar. The research team conducted nocturnal surveys in Sorata Forest, part of the COMATSA Nord Natural Resources Reserve, and recorded eight individuals of C. vencesi, marking the...

Calumma uetzi is one of Madagascar's most recently described and least-known chameleons. Officially named in 2018 by Prötzel, Vences, Hawlitschek, Scherz, Ratsoavina, and Glaw, the species honors Peter Uetz, founder of the Reptile Database. It belongs to the Calumma nasutum group, characterized by a soft, unpaired rostral appendage and small...

Calumma peyrierasi is one of the rarest and least-documented chameleons in Madagascar. First described in 1974 by Brygoo, Blanc, and Domergue, this species was discovered in the misty highlands of the Marojejy mountains, at elevations between 1900–2000 meters. Named in honor of André Peyriéras, a French entomologist who contributed extensively...

For decades, I have preached against the dangerous practice of transporting chameleons in cotton bags, akin to how snakes are handled. This widespread method used by many causes significant harm to these sensitive reptiles, resulting in terrible damage and suffering that often leads to slow and painful death.