Chameleon

Not Many People Know That (Number 6)

Oh that I were Charlie the Chameleon during the meeting I related in yesterday's blip.

I could have changed the colour on my cheeks, or even blended into the background and crawled away.

A lot of people know that Chameleons can change colour, but not many people know how.

I am one of those who doesn't know how the visual perception translates into the neurological impulses that go to the specialist cells in the skin, known as chromatophores, where the dispersal of pigment granules takes place.

But I can tell you three other things that not many people know about Chameleons.

1. Not many people know that Chameleons are didactyl.
Their 5 toes are fused into an opposing pair of toes that can grip very strongly. You can just see the fingernails of the fused toes with 3 to the inside and 2 to the outside of each foot.

2. Not many people know that the tongue of the chameleon is very long, in some species it is longer than its body.
The tongue can be shot out towards prey faster than the human eye can see. At the tip end there is a broad area covered in thick mucous that sticks to the prey as it is retracted into the mouth.

3. Not many people know that the chameleon's eyes are the coolest thing ever.
The top & bottom eyelids are fused with just enough room for the iris and pupil to be exposed. The eyes can rotate independently giving 360 degree vision. However, when prey is seen with one eye, the other will converge to focus giving excellent stereoscopic vision with accurate depth perception, so that vvvrrroom..... That amazing tongue can shoot into action.


Other blips in the 'Not Many People Know That' series can be found here: Tagged notmany