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THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM MAGAZINE. 



1 



to move forward, 

 keeping one hand, 

 and perhaps a foot 

 as well, poised in 

 air for several min- 

 utes before eventual- 

 ly deciding to put 

 them down and con- 

 tinue its journey. 

 The independent 



movement of its 

 eyes was ludicrous, 

 as one would be 

 looking forward in- 

 tently at an unwary 

 and unsuspecting fly, 

 while the other would 

 be looking in our 

 direction as if to 



say "watch me catch this fellow." 

 In its natural wild state the chameleon 

 is not always such a slow moving crea- 

 ture as it appears to be in captivity. It 

 is insectivorous and arboreal, being very 

 clumsy when jilaced on the ground. 



Although chameleons can change 

 colour, and comparatively quickly, they 

 are rivalled both as to speed of chang- 

 ing and variety of colours by many 

 species of iguanas (the iguana, which 

 is not known to Australia is very dis- 

 tinct from the goana) and even some 

 of the agamas. The following experi- 

 ments on its colour changes were carried 

 out in the reptile house of the New 

 York Zoological Park, the results being 

 published in Reptiles of the World 

 by Mr. R. L. Ditmars. 



Four specimens of the common 

 chameleon (C. vulgaris) -were taken and 

 the first was placed in the sunlight so 

 that only one side was exposed to the 

 rays. The second was also put in the 

 sun, but at such an angle as to entirely 

 suffuse the reptile with rays. A third 

 was placed in a dark box at a tempera- 

 ture of 75° Fahrenheit, while a fourth 

 was placed in a dark box at a tempera- 

 ture of 50° Fahrenheit. After fifteen 

 minutes the specimens were imcovered 

 and the following results were noted: — 



The common Chameleon makes a very interesting pet and is so used in 

 many parts of the world. Its power to change colour is much overrated, 

 and in this respect it cannot compare with some of the Agamas and 



Iguanas. 



Photo. — J. K. Kinghorn. 



The first was dark brown on the side 

 that had been exposed to the sun, while 

 the shadowed side was pale brown mot- 

 tled with green, the second was uniform 

 brown, deeper than the dark side of the 

 first specimen; the third reptile emerged 

 from the box in a brilliant coat of green ; 

 the fourth crawled sluggishly from its 

 cold quarters, its colour being a uniform 

 slaty grey. 



These specimens were then placed in 

 separate cases with different uniform 

 coloured surroundings, and with uni- 

 form light, one on green leaves, another 

 on brown twigs, and a third on white 

 sand. After a time they were all taken 

 out and examined, and were found to 

 be all the same colour, a yellowish 

 brown, which indicates that light and 

 temperature have more to do with the 

 change in colour than have their sur- 

 roundings. So the story of the chame- 

 leon which died through trying to ac- 

 commodate itself to the diverse colours 

 of a tartan kilt is proved to be a myth. 



These little reptiles make very inter- 

 esting pets, and are much sought after 

 as such in many parts of the world; for 

 a time they were fashionable toys 

 amongst certain society folk who carried 

 them about the streets in this country as 

 well as in many foreign places. 



