Introduction to chameleon

The chameleon is a reptile, and its scientific name is dodge. Mainly distributed in the African continent and Madagascar, it is a very strange animal with various characteristics and behaviors suitable for arboreal life.

The escapee is about 25 cm long, with a flat body, a spine on his back and a blunt triangular protrusion on the occipital part of his head. The limbs are very long, and the fingers and toes are put together and divided into two opposite groups. The first three fingers of the forelimb form the inner group, and the fourth and fifth fingers form the outer group. The first and second toes of the hind limbs form the inner group, and the peculiar three toes form the outer group, which is very suitable for holding branches. Its tail is very long and can wrap around branches. It has a very long and sensitive tongue, which protrudes beyond its body length. There are glands on the tip of the tongue that can secrete a lot of mucus and stick to insects. It has a pair of strange eyes, thick eyes, ring, two prominent eyeballs, left and right 180 degrees, and can rotate freely up and down, left and right. The left and right eyes can move independently and uncoordinated, which is rare in animals. Observing the eyes before and after the division of labor is not only conducive to predation, but also can find the enemy behind in time. It takes only 1/25 seconds for a chameleon to hunt with its long tongue.

Chameleons are also called shelters. In Chinese characters, "refuge" means "something that needs to be contributed", which means that food can be eaten without contribution. Therefore, it is named escape.

Because it is good at changing the color of the body at any time with the change of the environment, it is commonly known as chameleon. Discoloration is not only good for hiding oneself, but also good for catching prey. The physiological change of discoloration is accomplished by the expansion or contraction of pigment cells in the skin under the control of autonomic nervous system.

Chameleon, a reptile that evacuates the family, is characterized by its changeable body color. There are two genera of real shelters: Brookesia * * 19 species and Chamaeleo * * 70 species. About half of these species are only distributed in Madagascar, and most of the rest are distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. The other two species are distributed in West Asia, one in southern India and Sri Lanka, and the other (Chameleo chameleon) is distributed in the Near East, spanning North Africa to southern Spain.

The chameleon is about 17-25 cm long, and the longest is 60 cm. Its two sides are flat, its tail is often curled, its eyes are prominent, and its eyes can rotate independently. Some species have helmet-like heads, while others have conspicuous headdresses, such as three long horns protruding forward. This is more obvious in males and may be used to defend its territory. If other males invade his territory, the dominant male will stretch his body, his throat will swell, his hair will stand up or shake, and if he can't scare away another male, he will rush to bite his neck.

The body color changes of chameleons are different, and the mechanism of color change is that the cells (melanocytes) containing pigment particles are controlled by the autonomic nervous system to diffuse or concentrate pigment in the cells. Many species can turn green, yellow, beige or dark brown, usually with light or dark spots. The change of color depends on environmental factors, such as light, temperature and mood (fright, victory and failure). It is generally believed that chameleons change colors to match the surrounding colors, but this is actually a misunderstanding.

Chameleons are mostly found in rainforests to savannahs, and also in mountainous areas. Cold savannahs are rare, and they absolutely inhabit trees. Except the Chameleo chameleon mentioned above, they are generally on the ground. In addition, both males in courtship and females who want to lay eggs will descend to the ground. Chameleons mainly eat insects, and large species also eat birds. Most species are oviparous, laying 2~40 eggs on the ground, and the eggs are buried in soil or rotten wood, with an incubation period of about 3 months. How many species are viviparous in South Africa?