Top 10 Most Colorful Animals In The World

8. Panther Chameleon

Panther chameleon is the most colorful reptile in the world. They live in tropical forests of Madagascar. Chameleons have the power to turn into different colors that blend perfectly with their surrounding. Panther chameleons are also one of finest examples of camouflaging in animals.

Panther chameleons can vary their color in a time span of 20 seconds. They have special cells underneath the outer body layer. These cells can change color of the body in accordance with the surroundings. Scientists also believed that chameleons change their colors due to temperature and mood variations.

The panther chameleon was first described by French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1829. Its generic name is derived from the Latin root furci meaning “forked” and refers to the shape of the animal’s feet. The specific name pardalis refers to the animals’ markings, as it is Latin for “leopard” or “spotted like a panther”. The Greek word is a calque translating the Akkadian nēš qaqqari, “ground lion”. This lends to the common English name of “panther chameleon”.

Male panther chameleons can grow up to 20 inches in length, with a typical length of around 17 inches. Females are smaller, at about half the size. In a form of sexual dimorphism, males are more vibrantly colored than the females. Coloration varies with location, and the different color patterns of panther chameleons are commonly referred to as ‘locales’, which are named after the geographical location in which they are found. Panther chameleons from the areas of Nosy Be, Ankify, and Ambanja are typically a vibrant blue, while those from Ambilobe, Antsiranana, and Sambava are red, green or orange.