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Chameleons are right up there with my favourite animals.

Pangolins are still top of that list, but anything that can change colour deserves respect.

The humble chameleon is far from a one-trick pony, though, and scientists will spend the next few days putting 120 Knysna dwarf chameleons (that’s one pictured above) through their paces, during speed and endurance challenges that they refer to as the ‘Chameleon Olympics’.

More from the Guardian:

They will run on horizontal and vertical dowels of varying diameter; have the strength of their bite and gripping forces measured in newtons, and be tested on their ability to thermoregulate along a course that has a temperature gradient…

Image: Dr Krystal Tolley

Pitting urban chameleons against rural ones is the latest in a series of tests on South Africa’s 17 species of dwarf chameleons. These comprise “a really fascinating study system”, says [Dr Anthony Herrel], because of the way that they demonstrate evolution in action.

Herrel, who is based at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, has already put together fitness and performance tests for species like lizards and frogs, as well as chickens, so he knows what he’s doing.

Years back, chameleon species were largely forest-based, but as that habitat has dwindled, chameleons have had to adapt to survive:

Early indicators are that the Knysna dwarf chameleons are again changing their physical characteristics to adapt to city life. Preliminary test results show that the urban chameleons perform better across all three diameters of dowel, while the forest chameleons are really quick on the thicker dowels but slower on the skinniest ones.

And although the city dwellers seem to prefer the same temperatures as their counterparts from the forest, they have learned to change their behaviour to find shade on hot days.

The same set of tests that the Knysna dwarf chameleons go through will then be applied to the Eastern Cape dwarf chameleon (pictured below) and the KwaZulu-Natal dwarf chameleon.

It’s hoped that the results will show what the various species, forced to adapt to more urban environments, have in common.

One theory is that natural variation within the gene pool of a species means specimens with certain characteristics – eg shorter or perhaps longer limbs – are better suited to city life and are more successful at breeding with one other. This results in the gene pool slowly changing.

Image: Ullstein Bild/Getty

Alternatively, individuals already have the versions of genes they need to develop the ideal traits – it’s just a matter of activating them. In this case, a simple ecological flick can result in limbs becoming longer or shorter in a matter of a few (chameleon) generations.

Once genome sequencing has been completed, we may know the answer.

For no reason other than to show these animals the respect they deserve, here’s some cracking footage of chameleons in action.

[source:guardian]