# Common chameleon (*Chamaeleo chamaeleon*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-chameleon  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon), also called the Mediterranean chameleon, is a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae, order Squamata. It is a small reptile with an adult body mass of 36.49 g and a body length of 11.89 cm. Its main foods are beetle and heteroptera. It lays 30 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, with an incubation period of 203.5 days, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 36.5 g – 41.3 g |
| Length | 11 cm – 11.9 cm |
| Lifespan | 3.6 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Longest recorded lifespan | 6 years |
| Main food | beetle, heteroptera |
| Habitat | desert, shrubland |
| Egg incubation | 204 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 17.3 – 50 |
| Age at maturity | 7 months – 2 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Arboreal |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Chamaeleonidae
- genus: Chamaeleo
- species: *Chamaeleo chamaeleon* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Cameleo siculus*, *Chamaeleo cinereus*, *Chamaeleo cinereus*, *Chamaeleo parisiensium*, *Chamaeleo saharicus*, *Chamaeleo vulgaris*, *Chamaeleo vulgaris var. musae*, *Chamaeleo vulgaris var. recticrista*, *Chamaeleon auratus*, *Chamaeleon fasciatus*, *Chamaeleon mntabiiis*, *Chamaeleon rimulosus*, *Chamaeleon vulgaris*, *Lacerta chamaeleon*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the common chameleon?

The common chameleon is a lizard, a reptile in the family Chamaeleonidae and the suborder Iguania.

### How big is the common chameleon?

It has a body length of 11.89 cm and an adult body mass of 36.49 g, placing it in the small size class.

### What does the common chameleon eat?

Its main foods are beetle and heteroptera.

### Is the common chameleon endangered?

No. The IUCN lists it as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the common chameleon live?

Its lifespan is given as 3.6 years.

### How many eggs does the common chameleon lay?

It lays 30 eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year, and the eggs incubate for 203.5 days.

### Who named the common chameleon?

Its scientific name, Chamaeleo chamaeleon, carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-chameleon