Chamaeleo zeylanicus
Silhouette: Alex Slavenko · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The Indian chameleon (Chamaeleo zeylanicus) is a species of chameleon found in Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and select other parts of South Asia. Like other chameleons, this species moves slowly with a bobbing or swaying movement (attempting to mimic swaying branches) and are usually arboreal. They have an extremely long and sticky tongue, which they use to catch insects from several feet away. Also like other chameleons, C. zeylanicus has bifurcated feet with a tongs-like shape, a prehensile tail, independent eye movement, and the ability to rapidly change skin colouring and patterns. Despite common misconceptions, they do not change their visual appearance based on their surroundings or background, or even for camouflage, and may not even be able to perceive colour differences; rather, it is primarily for communication with others of their species, including to signify the receptiveness of a female (brighter patterns tend to show a willingness to mate) or submissiveness in general disputes (in territorial or male-female disputes, darker hues are often associated with submission, anger or desiring solitude). Additionally, colouring can change for controlling body temperature, changing to darker colours to absorb heat, or lighter to cool themselves. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mudumalai National Park | 🇮🇳 India |
More parks will be added in future updates.
No species of the same family or order lives in Hyderabad, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Chameleon sighting in Hyderabad on a given day, based on 59 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
August
In that month about 40% of wildlife watchers report an Indian Chameleon in Hyderabad on a given day, against under 5% in December, the lowest month. That is one of Hyderabad's wettest months, with about 190 mm of rain against almost none in December.
Between 7 and 10 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Indian Chameleon sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Yes
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Indian Chameleon sightings, Hyderabad has the highest daily chance: about 30%. Next come Mumbai (India, about 10%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Indian Chameleon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Hyderabad (59 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
