The hands and feet of chameleons
Chameleons can move perfectly on thin and thick branches. Their modified hands and feet enable them to do this. The bones of both hands and feet are very similar to those of humans. The only difference is that they are divided into small grasping pincers so that the chameleon can hold on to branches better. This makes climbing much easier for them than for us! On the hands, two fingers point outwards and three inwards. On the feet it is the other way round. This situation of “grown together” fingers is called syndactyly. There is a small, pointed claw on each finger and each toe. These claws enable the females to dig effectively so that they can later lay their eggs. This is why the claws of some species become longer than usual during the breeding season.
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Abbildung: aus The Osteology of Reptiles, 1925
Foto: Chamaeleo zeylanicus, fotografiert von Hari K Patibanda, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic
