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Chameleon Photos
Below are selected pictures of chameleons. More photographs of chameleons are available in the Madgascar section found on the left.
Except where noted, all images are the property of Rhett A. Butler, copyright 1994-2004. Contact me with questions regarding use, reproduction, or purchase of any of the pictures.
UPDATED PHOTOS HERE
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Page 1:
Furcifer pardalis chameleon | Panther Chameleon in Perinet |
Orange panther chameleon |
Baby Furcifer oustaleti |
Brookesia superciliaris sleeping on leaf |
Brookesia peyrierasi chameleon on twig |
Brookesia superciliaris chameleon in leaf litter |
Brookesia superciliaris chameleon, Masoala NP |
Peyrieras' Pygmy Chameleon (Brookesia peyrierasi) |
Brookesia peyrierasi chameleon in hand |
Calumma parsonii cristifer |
Calumma parsonii chameleon |
Furcifer balteatus chameleon |
Calumma Parsoniia |
Calumma Parsoniia |
Calumma Parsonii |
Calumma brevicornis (male) |
Calumma globifer chameleon |
Furcifer gastrotaenia chameleon |
Furcifer lateralis (juvenile) |
Furcifer willsii (Female) |
Furcifer willsii (Female) |
Furcifer willsii (Male) |
Furcifer verrucosus chameleon ready to eat insect |
Furcifer verrucosus (green) |
Young Panther chameleon |
Chameleon, Madagascar |
Panther Chameleon, Madagascar |
Juvenile Elliott's Chameleon |
Panther chameleon
Page 2:
Panther chameleon |
Furcifer pardalis chameleon near Maroantsetra (close head shot) | Brookesia minima chameleon size comparison | Brookesia minima on pack of gum |
Baby oustaleti chameleon on hand |
Brookesia peyrierasi chameleon on leaf |
Brookesia peyrierasi chameleon in palm |
Brookesia peyrierasi in palm of hand |
Brookesia superciliaris chameleon |
Calumma nasuta chameleon |
Calumma parsonii chameleon near Perinet |
female Calumma brevicornis |
Furcifer pardalis (breeding coloration) |
Furcifer campani |
Green female Furcifer oustaleti near Isalo |
Bright green female Furcifer oustaleti chameleon near Isalo |
Brookesia Chameleon, Madagascar |
Brookesia Chameleon, Madagascar |
Chameleon, Madagascar |
Elliot's Chameleon (Chamaeleo ellioti), close headshot |
Panther chameleon's prehensile tail |
Furcifer pardalis (panther chameleon) outside Maroantsetra |
Pardalis chameleon near Maroantsetra |
Furcifer pardalis chameleon in Maroantsetra (head shot)
| Brookesia chameleon in soil
| Fucifer chameleon on arm
| Panther Chameleon catching insect with tongue |
Calumma nasuta |
young female Calmma brevicornis |
Brookesia superciliaris playing dead
Page 3:
Brookesia superciliaris |
Brookesia thieli chameleon |
Calumma brevicornis (female) |
Calumma brevicornis chameleon (female) |
Calumma nasuta (sleeping on a leaf in the Masoala rainforest) |
Calumma nasuta chameleon |
Calumma nasuta chameleon on hand |
Furcifer oustaleti chameleon |
Furcifer campani chameleon near Ifasina |
Furcifer campani near Ifasina |
Bright green female Furcifer oustaleti chameleon |
Juvenile Fucifer pardalis chameleon |
Adult pardalis chameleon |
Blue-nosed Chameleon, Madagascar |
Chameleon, Madagascar |
Panther Chameleon, Madagascar |
Ousalett's Chameleion, Madagascar |
Parson's Chameleon |
Elliot's Chameleon (Chamaeleo ellioti) on a plant leaf |
Montane Side-striped Chameleon (Chamaeleo ellioti) resting on a leaf
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Related sections:
Madagascar lizards,
Chameleon information
Madagascar is home to about half the world's 150 or so species of chameleons including both subfamilies, typical chameleons (Chamaeleoninae) and dwarf chameleons (Brookesiinae).
Chameleons are small to mid-size reptiles that are famous for their ability to dramatically change colors (how?). Contrary to popular belief, a chameleon typically does not change colors to match its surroundings. Instead color is usually used to convey emotions, defend territories, and communicate with mates.
Other easily noted characteristics of chameleons include bulging eyes that move independently of one another, feet fixed in a grasping position, and the existence of horns or crests on the heads of many species. Additionally arboreal species have prehensile tails used for grasping objects when climbing and moving. Finally some species long extensile tongues for catching insects or small vertebrates at a distance sometimes greater than the length of the chameleon.
Chameleons are diurnal, solitary, and often aggressive towards members of their own species (marked by rapid color change and aggressive posturing). They are opportunistic hunters that wait for prey to pass within range of their long tongues. Chameleons have a bizarre way of moving where they slowly rock back and forth between each step taken, often in time with the movement of nearby leaves being blown by the wind. Most chameleons lay eggs.
More from Wikipedia.org:
Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are small to mid-size reptiles that belong to one of the best known lizard families. They are famous for their ability to change their colour, and also because of their elongated tongue and their eyes which can be moved independently of each other. The name "Chameleon" means "earth lion" and is derived from the Greek words chamai (on the ground, on the earth) and leon (lion).
Distribution and habitat:
The main distribution of Chameleons is Africa and Madagascar, although some species are also found in parts of southern Europe, Sri Lanka, India and Asia Minor. Different members of this family inhabit all kinds of biotopes like tropical and montane rain forests, savannahs and sometimes semideserts and steppes. Chameleons are mostly arboreal and are often found on smaller bushes and shrubs rather than on taller trees. Some species, however, live on the ground under foliage.
Behaviour:
All Chameleon species are diurnal. Their main activity is in the morning and in the evening. Chameleons are not active hunters but rather sit motionless for hours and wait for a prey to pass by. They mainly feed on different arthropods and small vertebrates. Chameleons live mostly solitary and are quite aggressive toward other members of the same species.
Change of color:
Some Chameleon species are able to change their body color, which has made them one of the most famous lizard families. Contrary to popular belief, this change of color is not only an adaptation to the surroundings but also an expression of the physical and physiological condition of the lizard. The skin color is changed under influence of mood, light and temperature. The skin color also plays an important part in communication and rivalry fights.
Chameleons have specialized cells that lie in two layers under the chameleon's transparent outer skin. The cells in the upper layer, which are called chromatophores, contain yellow and red pigments. Below these chromatophores is a another cell layer. Cells of this layer are called guanophores and they contain the colorless crystaline substance guanin. These guanophores reflect amongst others the blue part of incident light. If the upper layer of chromatophores is yellow, the reflected light becomes green (blue plus yellow). A layer of dark melanin containing melanophores is situated even deeper under these blue and white light reflecting guanophores.These melanophores influence the lightness of the reflected light. All these different pigment cells can relocate their pigments, thereby influencing the color of light which is reflected.
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