Description
Chameleons vary greatly in size and body structure, with maximum total length varying from 15 millimetres (0.6 in) in male Brookesia micra (one of the world's smallest reptiles) to 68.5 centimetres (30 in) in the male Furcifer oustaleti. Many have head or facial ornamentation, such as nasal protrusions, or horn-like projections in the case of Trioceros jacksonii, or large crests on top of their head, like Chamaeleo calyptratus. Many species are sexually dimorphic, and males are typically much more ornamented than the female chameleons.
Typical sizes of species of chameleon commonly kept as pets are:
| Species' Scientific Name | Species' Common Name | Length (Male) | Length (Female) | Color | Lifespan (Years) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chamaeleo calyptratus | Veiled Chameleon | 14"–24" | 10–13" | Green & Light Colors | ≈5 |
| Trioceros jacksonii | Jackson's Chameleon | 9"–13" | 10"–13" | Green & Light Colors | ≈5–10 |
| Furcifer pardalis | Panther Chameleon | 15"–21" | 9"–13" | Darker Colors | ≈5 (2–3 for birthing females) |
| Rieppeleon brevicaudatus | Bearded Pygmy Chameleon | 2"–3" | 2"–3" | Brown, Beige, Green | ≈3–5 |
| Rhampholeon spectrum | Spectral Pygmy Chameleon | 3"–4" | 2"–4" | Tan & Gray | Unknown |
| Rhampholeon temporalis | Pygmy Chameleon | 2.5"–4" | 2"–3.5" | Gray & Brown | Unknown |
The feet of chameleons are highly adapted to arboreal locomotion, though species such as Chamaeleo namaquensis, that have secondarily adopted a terrestrial habit, have retained the same foot morphology with little modification. On each foot there are five clearly distinguished toes that are grouped into two fascicles. The toes in each fascicle are bound into a flattened group of either two or three, giving each foot a tongs-like appearance. On the front feet the outer, lateral, group contains two toes, whereas the inner, medial, group contains three. On the rear feet this arrangement is reversed, the medial group containing two toes, and the lateral group three. These specialized feet allow chameleons to grip tightly onto narrow or rough branches. Furthermore, each toe is equipped with a sharp claw to afford a grip on surfaces such as bark when climbing. It is common to refer to the feet of chameleons as didactyl or zygodactyl, though neither term is fully satisfactory, both being used in describing totally different feet, such as the zygodactyl feet of parrots or didactyl feet of sloths or ostriches, none of which are significantly like chameleon feet. Although "zygodactyl" is reasonably descriptive of chameleon foot anatomy, their foot structure does not resemble that of parrots, to which the term was first applied. As for didactyly, chameleons visibly have five toes on each foot, not two.
Some chameleons have a crest of small spikes extending along the spine from the proximal part of the tail to the neck; both the extent and size of the spikes varies between species and individual. No generally convincing functional explanation for this feature has been proposed.
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