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Image: Bernard DUPONT |
Isn't it wonderful? Chameleons already push the boundaries of normalcy as far as they can, now they're pushing the boundaries of weirdness, too!
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Image: Bernard DUPONT |
Chameleons are really just a grab bag of zoological eccentricities assembled into vaguely lizard-like form. I'm pretty sure they don't actually exist. Kind of like when people saw a giraffe and thought it was a leopard's body with deer legs and a snake's head. Chameleons are probably just monkeys wearing glasses and tiny Hawaiian shirts.
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Image: Bernard DUPONT |
If we are to convince ourselves to believe the stories (and photographs and videos) of the legendary Crested Chameleon, then they inhabit the forests of central and west Africa.
Video: ChamalotChameleons
They reach a total length of almost 30 cm (a foot), with females slightly larger than males. However, males are armed (backed?) with a larger sail adorning their back. It can reach 3 cm (1.2 in) tall! That's not the only difference between males and females, they also have different favourite colours. While they have lots of choice in that oh so chameleon way, females normally like to be green as they go about their day, while males prefer a more drab grey or brown.
Crested Chameleons aren't one to climb high up into the canopy of forests. They like to remain closer to ground level, munching on insects during the day. At night they descend even closer to the ground and snooze in the bushes.
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Image: Bernard DUPONT |
The green lady on the other hand can now lay about a dozen eggs which hatch some months later. Newly hatched females don't have a sail-back crest at all but males already have a tiny one. It makes you wonder what baby Spinosaurs looked like!
2 comments:
so darn cool!
It's a real beauty!
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