Abstract
DURING the past summer I have kept five chamæleons in captivity, and have repeatedly observed their terror and rage when confronted with snakes. When a large Algerian chamæleon (C. vulgaris), now in my possession, perceives a common snake (Tropidonotus natrix) wriggling in his vicinity, he at once inflates his body and pouch, sways himself backwards and forwards with considerable energy, or walks rapidly away with his body leaning over in the direction furthest from the snake, opening his huge cavernous mouth, and hissing and even snapping at what he evidently regards as his natural enemy. At the same time his body assumes an almost instantaneous change of colour, and is quickly covered with a large number of small dark brown spots. It is curious that similar symptoms of fear and anger are displayed when a lizard (Lacerta viridis), or even a treefrog (Hyla arborea) is exhibited to him. The climax of grotesque nervousness was, however, reached one day, when the sight of a child's doll produced the like effect; in this case, it is probable that the glass eyes of the doll, giving to it the appearance of life, were what caused this terror in the reptile.
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MIDDLETON, R. Sense of Fear in Chamæleons. Nature 18, 696 (1878). https://doi.org/10.1038/018696b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/018696b0
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