Chameleons belong to a very specialized family of lizards. Approximately 160 species have been described so far, more than half of them are endemic to Madagascar, raising the possibility that they originated on the Island.

Although the most widely known chameleon fact is that they can change their colours they have many more remarkable adaptations to their life in the forests of Madagscar, Africa, Yemen, India and Southern Europe.

Their eyes, tongues and limbs are all unusual and specially adapted to their unique niche. Although different species share the same characteristics, there is a lot of variation between the different species. They can range in size from the largest, Parson's chameleon, Calumma parsoni, which reaches up to 68 cm (27 in) in length to the tiny pygmy chameleons, the smallest of which is thought to be Brookesia micro where a female reaches up to 29 millimetres (1.1 in) long.

Although most chameleons are arboreal, i.e. live in treas, Brookesia live on the ground, where they hid amongst leaf litter