Brookesia micra, also known as the Nosy Hara leaf chameleon is a species of chameleons from the islet of Nosy Hara in Antsiranana, Madagascar. At the time of its discovery, it was the smallest known chameleon and among the smallest reptiles, until the 2021 discovery of the even smaller B. nana. Adult B. micra can grow up to 29 mm (1.1 in) in length.
Image: Brookesia micra female
Image: Brookesia micra on a match head
Chameleons or chamaeleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colours, being capable of colour-shifting camouflage. The large number of species in the family exhibit considerable variability in their capacity to change colour. For some, it is more of a shift of brightness ; for others, a plethora of colour-combinations can be seen.
Chameleon
Mughal era painting of a chameleon by Ustad Mansur.
Skeleton of common chameleon
Nearly all species of chameleon have prehensile tails, but they most often grip with the tail when they cannot use all four feet at once, such as when passing from one twig to another.