Strange Creatures: Chameleon and Tarsier

Strange Creatures: Chameleon and Tarsier

“Chameleon is the animal which changes according to surrounding, feature similar to human” ― Ax-n Arshed

Dr Abe V Rotor

 

Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) come in a range of colors, and have the ability to change color. They are distinguished by their zygodactylous feet (two toes point forwards, and two to the rear); their very extensive, rapidly extrudable tongues; their swaying gait and crests or horns on their brow and snout, and a prehensile tail.  They are adapted for climbing and visual hunting, and live in warm habitats from rain forest to desert conditions, with various species in Africa, Madagascar, Europe, and Asia. They also have been introduced to other countries and often are kept as household pets, such as the Chamaeleo calyptratus. 

Different chameleon species are able to vary their coloration and pattern through combinations of pink, blue, red, orange, green, black, brown, light blue, yellow, turquoise, and purple. Males are more ornamented than the females. Chameleons have the most distinctive eyes of any reptile. Their eyes are independently mobile, and aim at a prey with stereoscopic vision. The upper and lower eyelids are joined, with only a pinhole large enough for the pupil to see through. Each eye can pivot and focus independently, allowing the chameleon to observe two different objects simultaneously. This gives them a full 360-degree arc of vision around their bodies. Chameleons have very good eyesight, and can see small insects from a distance of 5 to 10 meters. 

Philippine tarsier (Carlito syrichta), locally known as mawumag or mamag 

For the past 45 million years, tarsiers have inhabited rainforests around the world, but now they exist on only a few islands in the Philippines, Borneo, and Indonesia. In Bohol, the Philippine tarsier was a common sight in the southern part of the island until the 1960s. The Philippine tarsier (Carlito syrichta), is a member of the family Tarsiidae, whose name is derived from its elongated "tarsus" or ankle bone. Formerly a member of the genus Tarsius, it is now listed as the only member of the genus Carlito, a new genus named after the conservationist Carlito Pizarras.  Carlito syrichta) is one of the smallest known primates, no larger than a man's hand. It is nocturnal and lives on a diet of insects. 

Acknowledgement: Internet photos and Wikipedia reference