Chameleon

Colour-changer with a rocket tongue

A chameleon changes colour — but not to hide! It shows its mood: red when angry, dark when cold. Its two eyes look in different directions. Its tongue is twice as long as its body and grabs an insect in 1/100 of a second!

The panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) lives in Madagascar — half of all the world's chameleon species live on this island. Colour change happens by adjusting the spacing of nanocrystals (iridophores) in its skin — for mood, temperature and communication; camouflage is secondary. Its eyes rotate independently through 360°, and when both focus on prey they create stereo vision. The tongue is twice its body length, fires in 0.07 seconds, and accelerates 5 times faster than a sports car. Its toes grip like pincers and its tail wraps around branches. 90% of Madagascar's forests have been cut — a threat to all chameleons.

Fun facts

• A chameleon's tongue accelerates 5 times faster than a sports car.
• A chameleon's eyes look in two directions at once.
• Half of all the world's chameleons live only in Madagascar.