Adult Male
Name: unnamed
Species: Chamaeleo Tinguo
Birthday: Thursday, December 3, 2020
Owner: Telynaur
Element: Neutral
Chamaeleo tinguos are not the smartest animals in the Jungle of Raza, but they are nonetheless very bright. Their fine scales can change to any color imaginable, and they regularly make dazzling prismacolor displays dance across their skin. They may change color for a number of reasons, but even though they have active control over their color changing, their color seems to usually reflect their mood. When they get excited about something, their scales light up with a rainbow of shimmering colors, almost making them look iridescent. Usually, the thing they've gotten excited about is a tasty bug. Despite their slow speed, chamaelo tinguos have immense appetites. Their tongues are as long as the rest of their bodies, and can shoot out of their mouths with impressive speed thanks to a special rod-shaped bone in the base of the tongue. They can propel the sticky loose end of the tongue as fast the eye can blink, though reeling in their catch takes longer. Once they've gotten whatever unfortunate bug they've trapped into their mouths, they have to take a few seconds to coil their tongue muscles around the tongue bone again. The tongue works in a way similar to a crossbow, as once it is reloaded, the chamaeleo tinguo exerts little effort to keep it tense.
Technically, a chamaeleo tinguo can blend into its surroundings almost perfectly, but they rarely use this ability. Instead, they flash brilliant colors and intricate patterns to communicate with other lizards nearby, as well as confuse predators. They live in the depths of the Jungle of Raza, where even their brightest color displays can still be hard to spot among the shadows and colorful flowers. Finding these creatures is much harder than one might expect. Their eggs are exceedingly rare, hidden in forks in the treetops, and the adults climb higher still, foraging at the tips of branches with the help of their strong grasping feet. Your best bet when tracking down chamaeleo tinguo is to look for insects first -- these lizards can't resist an easy meal, and will congregate wherever there are butterflies and beetles up in the trees.
Sprite art: Mysfytt (adult) | Description: PKGriffin