Namaqua chameleon  (Chamaeleo namaquensis)

A unique family of lizards, chameleons exhibit some bizarre traits. With a large, triangular head, conical, independently-moving eyes, laterally compressed body and fused toes, the chameleon has looks as strange as its behaviour. All chameleon species are capable of colour change, which is not only for camouflage as is generally assumed. Chameleons may also change colour in response to other chameleons (when fighting or mating), temperature, and their surroundings. Particularly comical when walking, they have an odd gait, moving with diagonally opposite limbs. The toes are fused, giving mitten-like feet that are efficient for gripping branches in many habitats occupied by chameleon species. The tongue may be up to twice the length of the body, with a bulbous sticky tip, which it shoots out to capture its prey (3). Normally, the Namaqua chameleon is grey and brown with four to six lighter patches on its sides, dark triangles beneath the dorsal crest and red or yellow stripes on the throat. This species has a large head, a dorsal crest and a short tail which is not prehensile as it is in arboreal chameleon species (4).