Chamaeleo

Chamaeleo is a genus of chameleons in the family Chamaeleonidae. Most species of the genus Chamaeleo are found in sub-Saharan Africa, but a few species are also present in northern Africa, southern Europe, and southern Asia east to India and Sri Lanka.

Chamaeleo
Temporal range: Early Miocene- present, 26–0 Ma
Chamaeleo calyptratus, veiled chameleon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Chamaeleonidae
Subfamily: Chamaeleoninae
Genus: Chamaeleo
Laurenti, 1768[1]
Type species
Chamaeleo parisiensium
Laurenti, 1768
Diversity
14 species
Chamaeleo dilepis, flap-necked chameleon

Description

Species in the genus Chamaeleo are slow moving, with independently movable eyes, the ability to change skin colouration, a long tongue, usually a prehensile tail, and special leg adaptations for grasping vegetation. Males are generally larger and more colorful than females. Almost all species have a maximum snout-vent length (SVL) between 15 and 40 centimetres (5.9 and 15.7 in).

Behavior

The vast majority of Chamaeleo species are arboreal and typically found in trees or bushes, but a few species (notably the Namaqua Chameleon) are partially or largely terrestrial.

Reproduction

The genus Chamaeleo includes only oviparous species.

In captivity

With few exceptions, the chameleons most commonly seen in captivity are all members of the genus Chamaeleo, notably the common, Senegal, and veiled chameleons, but even they require special care.

Taxonomy

Chamaeleo is the type genus of the family Chamaeleonidae.

All other genera of the subfamily Chamaeleoninae (Bradypodion, Calumma, Furcifer, Kinyongia, Nadzikambia, and Trioceros) have at some point been included in the genus Chamaeleo, but are now regarded as separate genera by virtually all authorities.

Extant Species

14 species are recognized as being valid, and subspecies are recognized for some species.[2]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Chamaeleo africanus Laurenti, 1768African chameleonSahel, from Mali and Mauritania to Sudan, north to Egypt
Chamaeleo anchietae Bocage, 1872Angola double-scaled chameleonAngola (Huila, Mossamedes), Congo
Chamaeleo arabicus Matschie, 1893Arabian chameleonsouthern Arabian Peninsula
Chamaeleo calcaricarens Böhme, 1985Awash spurless chameleonEthiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, N Somalia
Chamaeleo calyptratus A.M.C. Duméril & A.H.A. Duméril, 1851veiled chameleonYemen and Saudi Arabia
Chamaeleo chamaeleon (Linnaeus, 1758)common chameleonS Greece (Aegean Islands, Crete, Chios, Samos), Malta, S Portugal, S Spain, S/E Turkey, Cyprus, Italy (Apulia, Calabria),

N Africa: Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sinai, Israel, Jordan, SW Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq

Chamaeleo dilepis Leach, 1819flap-necked chameleonCongo, Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi (Shire Highlands), Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa, Swaziland, Botswana,

Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda (see note), Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire; except in the north), Zambia, Burundi, Uganda, E Zaire, Tanzania (Pemba Island), Mozambique, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe

Chamaeleo gracilis Hallowell, 1844graceful chameleonCentral African Republic, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Guinea (Conakry),

Gambia, Benin, E Burkina Faso

Chamaeleo laevigatus Gray, 1863smooth chameleonBurundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, North and South Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Central African Republic, Zambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Cameroon
Chamaeleo monachus Gray, 1865Socotran chameleonYemen (Socotra Island)
Chamaeleo namaquensis A. Smith, 1831Namaqua chameleonSouth Angola, Namibia, Republic of South Africa
Chamaeleo necasi Ullenbruch, P. Krause & Böhme, 2007Nečas' flap-necked chameleonTogo, Benin
Chamaeleo senegalensis Daudin, 1802Senegal chameleonTropical West Africa from Senegal to Cameroon: Guinea-Bissau, Guinea (Conakry), Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Mali, Gambia (HÅKANSSON 1981), Central African Republic, Mauritania
Chamaeleo zeylanicus Laurenti, 1768Indian chameleonSri Lanka, India (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Southern plains of the Ganges, Tamil Nadu, Telangana), Pakistan

Nota bene: A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Chamaeleo.

Fossils

ImageScientific nameDistribution
Chamaeleo caroliquarti Moody & Rocek, 1980Czech Republic

References

  1. Genus "Chamaeleo ". ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
  2. Genus Chamaeleo at The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading

  • Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Genus Chamaeleo, p. 227).
  • Laurenti JN (1768). Specimen medicum, exhibens synopsin reptilium emendatam cum experimentis circa venena et antidota reptilium austriacorum. Vienna: "Joan. Thom. Nob. de Trattnern". 214 pp. + Plates I-V. (Chamaeleo, new genus, p. 45). (in Latin).
  • Spawls S, Howell K, Drewes R, Ashe J (2002). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Köln, Germany: Academic Press. 544 pp. ISBN 0-12-656470-1.
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