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Animal profile

Panther Chameleon

Furcifer pardalis

ReptiliaCoastal lowland forest, scrub and disturbed edgesLeast Concern

Field profile

The panther chameleon is a medium-large Madagascan chameleon in which males show striking, locality-specific colouration. Like other chameleons it has independently mobile eyes, opposable grasping feet and a projectile tongue. Its colour changes serve signalling and thermoregulation rather than background matching.

Scope note

This is an editorial profile, not a diagnostic field-identification guide or a substitute for current conservation assessments. Follow the cited sources on each fact for the evidence trail.

Published field notes

2023-05-04

Panther Chameleon

Chameleon colour change comes from tuned crystals

Chameleons do not shift colour by moving pigment alone. Panther chameleons have a layer of skin cells containing a lattice of guanine nanocrystals, and by changing the spacing of that lattice they retune which wavelengths of light it reflects.

Read with evidence →

Panther Chameleon | Daily Animal Facts