A FAMILY OF CHAMELEONS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3053, 8 April 1881, Page 3

A FAMILY OF CHAMELEONS.

The chameleons have long been an object of peculiar interest to scientific investigations, because of their curious power of altering their appearance to conform to surrounding objeots. Dr. Bachelor, of Midnapore, India, bas given in the Popular Science Monthly the result of numerons observations of a family of chameleons which

he has been keeping,

The chameleon does

not change its color always to match its i surroundings, but its power to hide itself by a change of form no less wonderful. In a normal state of rest the color is of' light pea-green, at times blending with yellow. The least excitement causes traverse stripes to appear, running across the back and nearly encircling the body. These strfpes occupy

about the same amount of space as the

groundwork and are most susceptible to change of color. At first they become deeply green, and, if the excitement continues, gradually change to black. When

placed upon a tree, the groundwork becomes a deep green, and the stripeß a deeper green or black, and so long as they remain on the trees the color does not change. Placed on the scarlet leaves of the dractea and among the red flowers of the acacia, no change was obseiwed. But its changes of shape are still more remarkable. Sometimes it assumes the form of a disconsolate mouse sitting in a corner ; again, with back curved and tail erect, it resembles a crouching lion, which no doubt gave origin to its name, chami lion, or ground lion. By inflating its sides, it flattens its belly, and, viewed from below, takes the form of an ovate leaf. The tail is the petiole, while a white serrated line, which runs from nose to tip of tail over the belly, becomes the leaf's midrib. Still again, throwing out the air, it draws in its sides, and at the same time expands itself upward and downward till it becomes as thin as a knife, and then, viewed from the side, it has the form of an ovate leaf which lacks a mid-rib, but tho serrated line of the belly and the serrated back simulate the serrated edges of a leaf. When thus expanded, it has the power to gway itself, so as to present an edge to an observer, thus greatly adding to its means of concealment. Half a dozed chameleons placed in a small tree, not 3ft in diameter across the top, are very difficult to discover, although one is certain they must be there.