The Mediterranean or European Chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon), 'Kamaleonte' in Maltese, is one of 171 species of chameleons.
1. Chameleons arrived in Malta just a century ago
The chameleon is not an endemic species but was introduced to the Maltese Islands in the 19th century, some time between between 1846 and 1865. Apparently, Protestant missionaries released specimens from North Africa into the gardens of the Jesuit college of St Ignatius in St Julians and they have now spread to all parts of Malta, Gozo and Comino.
2. Chameleons live in trees (usually)
The chameleon is an arboreal lizard, but the female will lay and bury her eggs in a hole near the base of the trunk. The chameleon is laterally compressed to help it hide behind branches and avoid being detected by predators. In Malta, the creature has also adapted to the garigue habitat. Its extraordinary ability to adapt and survive has made the chameleon an integral part of the Maltese herpetofauna within less than a century.
3. Chameleons are related to iguanas
A lizard of the iguana order, the whole body of the chameleon is covered in scales, with larger plate-like scales on the face and a crest of conical scales on top of the head. The crest is usually higher in males than in females. Although there are much larger (and much smaller) species of chameleon, the Mediterranean Chameleon grows up to 30cm in length, including the tail.
4. Chameleons change colour according to their mood
The chameleon is normally greenish or brownish in colour with paler flecks on its side, blending well into its surroundings. But that it changes colour for camouflage is a myth; the change is a response to temperature, light, reproductive and physical status, mood and stress. A scared chameleon will turn almost black. A dying chameleon will turn pale grey. But be warned: if a light or dark chameleon also puffs up its body and opens a wide mouth, it is feeling threatened and trying to appear larger and more fierce! The chameleon’s chromatic range includes even blue, yellow and orange!
5. Chameleons can view 360° without turning their heads
Its turret eyes, that can move independently, allow the chameleon the ability of a 360° view in any direction without turning its head, a truly unique characteristic. This ability also allows the chameleon to keep an eye on a predator while very slowly moving to a safer location.
6. Chameleons also have special feet and tails
Like arboreal birds, chameleons have zygodactyl feet, meaning they have two opposing groups of toes that offer them greater grip on branches. The have two toes on the outside and three toes on the inside of each front foot, with a reversed pattern on the hind feet. The prehensile tail that coils around branches almost acts as a fifth limb.
7. Chameleons have nasty tongues!
No, we don’t mean that a chameleon will shout abuse at you. The animal will literally shoot down its prey with its long sticky tongue. With a projectile tongue mechanism unique among lizards, the chameleon will eject its tongue and capture its prey in less than than one-sixteenth of a second, which is literally faster than the blink of an eye. The tongue is twice as long as the creature’s length and extremely rarely misses a target.
8. It is illegal to keep chameleons as pets or kill them
Although initially introduced as pets into a garden and probably spread throughout the island by people who were fascinated by this slow-moving creature’s alienesque charm, these features are also its undoing. Chameleons developed to live in trees, of which there are always less and less. Moving slowly, it is often the victim of habitat loss due to urbanisation. Captured for amusement, it is separated from possible mates. Chameleon numbers, although unknown, are considered to be in dangerous decline.
“For most people, it is more common to see a dead chameleon splattered on the road by a passing car, than a living specimen basking in the sun waiting for a cicada to stop nearby.” ~ Federico Chini, ‘Chameleons in Gozo’
In Malta, the chameleon is protected. Handling a chameleon for reasons that are not purely scientific is illegal. To keep it as a pet, to sell it, to export it or to kill it is illegal. Please, protect these lovely creatures so that they can continue to prosper!