Chameleon question

[karyn674]

kokopup no we do not have Geico commercials in Malta but thanks to you now I know....I googled it

Now the following is extracted from Wikipedia:

The family Chamaeleonidae are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, and the possession by many of a prehensile tail, crests or horns on their distinctively shaped heads, and the ability of some to change color. Uniquely adapted for climbing and visual hunting, the approximately 160 species of chameleon range from Africa, Madagascar, Spain and Portugal, across south Asia, to Sri Lanka, have been introduced to Hawaii and California, and are found in warm habitats that vary from rain forest to desert conditions.

Now the ones we have in Malta do change colours to camouflage and become invisible with the surroundings. Here in Malta people also tell you that they have the ability to change in all colours except red, so if you put a chameleon on red it will die, due to heart failure, trying to turn red. I don't know if this is true, because obviously it is not something worth trying!!

Something which is also very interesting with this particular animal is that it can move and see independantly from each eye. So he must have at least two brains. How intelegent is that!

[kokopup]

A lot of people down here wrongly call Green Anoles "chameleons" because they can quickly turn from green to brown. They kind of look similar to the Geico gecko, could this be what you're thinking of? We have Indo-Pacific geckos here too, but they're usually a translucent pink-grey color.

Since I just found out I had been wrong i tried to find a Lizard in the Native to Alabama list and the picture I found looked like the Lizard I have always called a chameleon. I think the Green Anoles is also suppose to be common here. I do not think either is native to the state. I believe we get a lot of critters in Alabama that come in through the port of Mobile. The fire ant that has taken over here came in through Mobile. I know the little Green/brown guy (Gecko?) I have in my yard number in the thousands and are everywhere