Chamaeleon was one of twelve constellations created by Petrus Plancius from the observations of Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman.

[2] It first appeared on a 35-cm diameter celestial globe published in 1597 (or 1598) in Amsterdam by Plancius and Jodocus Hondius.

It was one of many constellations created by European explorers in the 15th and 16th centuries out of unfamiliar Southern Hemisphere stars.

The cloud complex lies some 400 to 600 light years from Earth, and contains tens of thousands of solar masses of gas and dust.

[2] In Chinese astronomy, the stars that form Chamaeleon were classified as the Little Dipper (小斗; Xiǎodǒu) among the Southern Asterisms (近南極星區; Jìnnánjíxīngōu) by Xu Guangqi.