This story appears in the September 2015 issue of National Geographic magazine. For sheer breadth of freakish anatomical features, the chameleon has few rivals. A tongue far longer than its body ...

Hiding in the lush greenery of Réunion Island, the caméléon endormi (literally “sleepy chameleon”) is a living jewel of ...

These grasping feet are ideal for tree climbing. Chameleons also have an extremely extensile tongue. The tongue is used to snap up insects and out-of-reach food, and can be up to twice the length ...

The blue rod visible inside the lizard’s throat is attached to the chameleon’s famously long tongue. A muscle called the lingual accelerator muscle surrounds the rod, and its contraction stores the ...

There’s a story that the chameleon looks so bizarre because it was made by the Devil from spare parts. It is said to have the tail of a monkey, the skin of a crocodile, the tongue of a toad ...

Chameleons have great eyesight and can move each of their eyes 180˚ independently without moving their head. This means they can use their long, sticky tongue to capture prey, all without moving.

The Meller's chameleon is the largest of the chameleons not native to Madagascar. Their stout bodies can grow to be up to two feet long and weigh more than a pound. Meller's distinguish themselves ...