JACKSON'S CHAMELEON

Watch Jackson's Chameleon in action: 2 different videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0BVXqEDWOA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g72eJAdlI88

Chameleons are absolutely incredible lizards. Perhaps none are more amazing than the Jackson's chameleon, or the googly-eyed mitten-handed tree-ceratops). Clint takes a closer look at these amazing lizards to help you determine if this is the best pet lizard for you.

Karma Chameleon 1983
Culture Club
Go to link to listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=078VM6JrpkQ

Most are approximately 15-35 cm in length. They normally display varying shades of green but can turn as dark as black when in great distress. They are sexually dimorphic. Males have three long, pointed horns protruding from the head. These horns are absent or poorly developed in females. The back of the head displays a small crest. There are small spines along the vertebral line. Like other chameleons, Jackson's chameleon has zygodactylus feet (divided so that two toes point inward and three point outward) which are specialized for tree life, and a prehensile tail which is also used for gripping.

The most recognizable feature of all chameleons, however, are their eyes. The pupil is the only part visible from its covering of skin. Each eye rotates a full 180 degrees and is independent of the other. Chameleons have unusually strong control over the curvature of their lenses, and may actually magnify an image.

Perhaps because of the extreme recoil caused by its ejecting tongue, chameleons need a way to stay firmly attached to the branches of trees. Nature's solution is "zygodactylous" feet. A chameleon has two outer and three inner toes on its front feet, and two inner and three outer toes on its hind feet. Each toe features a sharp nail that digs into tree bark. Other animals—including perching birds and sloths—also evolved a similar anchoring strategy, though the five-toed anatomy of chameleons is unique.