Chameleons

Adaptation

The process by which a species becomes more fit for its environment over the course of several generations. It is a result of natural selection.

A state of dormancy or inactivity that some cold-blooded animals enter during cold winter months.

Camouflage

The ability for an organism to blend into their surroundings usually to hide from prey or predators.

Carnivore

An animal that primarily eats meat.

Desert

An ecosystem that receives very little rain.

Diabetes

A disease that effects the body's ability to produce insulin and disrupts the amount of sugar in the bloodstream.

Dominant

To be the most powerful animal in the group.

Ectotherm

An animal that relies on the outside temperature to regulate their body temperature (reptiles and amphibians). Also known as cold-blooded.

Energy

[In biology] The properties used by living organisms to perform normal functions that originate as light energy from the sun and move throughout an ecosystem through food webs.

Metabolize

The process of turning food (or fat) into energy.

Osteoderm

A bony plate found in the skin of animals like Gila monsters, crocodiles, and Komodo dragons.

Predator

An animal that hunts other animals for food.

Prey

An animal that is hunted and eaten by another animal.

Reptile

A group of ectothermic (cold-blooded) vertebrates that are covered in scales and generally lay eggs.

Species

A closely related group of animals with similar characteristics that are capable of reproducing (example: tigers).

Venom

A toxin that is injected into prey through teeth or a stinger.