Chamaeleo Laurenti, 1768
- Dataset
- English Wikipedia - Species Pages
- Rank
- GENUS
Classification
- genus
- Chamaeleo
Abstract
Chamaeleo dilepis, flap-necked chameleon
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 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.
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.
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.
Extant species
14 species are recognized as being valid, and subspecies are recognized for some species.. www.reptile-database.org.
Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution Chamaeleo africanus Laurenti, 1768 African chameleon Sahel, from Mali and Mauritania to Sudan, north to Egypt Chamaeleo anchietae Bocage, 1872 Angola double-scaled chameleon Angola (Huila, Mossamedes), Congo Chamaeleo arabicus Matschie, 1893 Arabian chameleon southern Arabian Peninsula Chamaeleo calcaricarens Böhme, 1985 Awash spurless chameleon Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, N Somalia Chamaeleo calyptratus A.M.C. Duméril & A.H.A. Duméril, 1851 veiled chameleon Yemen and Saudi Arabia Chamaeleo chamaeleon (Linnaeus, 1758) common chameleon S 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, 1819 flap-necked chameleon Congo, 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, 1844 graceful chameleon Central 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, 1863 smooth chameleon Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, North and South Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Central African Republic, Zambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Cameroon Chamaeleo monachus Gray, 1865 Socotran chameleon Yemen (Socotra Island) Chamaeleo namaquensis A. Smith, 1831 Namaqua chameleon South Angola, Namibia, Republic of South Africa Chamaeleo necasi Ullenbruch, P. Krause & Böhme, 2007 Nečas' flap-necked chameleon Togo, Benin Chamaeleo senegalensis Daudin, 1802 Senegal chameleon Tropical 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, 1768 Indian chameleon Sri 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.
Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution Chamaeleo africanus Laurenti, 1768 African chameleon Sahel, from Mali and Mauritania to Sudan, north to Egypt Chamaeleo anchietae Bocage, 1872 Angola double-scaled chameleon Angola (Huila, Mossamedes), Congo Chamaeleo arabicus Matschie, 1893 Arabian chameleon southern Arabian Peninsula Chamaeleo calcaricarens Böhme, 1985 Awash spurless chameleon Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, N Somalia Chamaeleo calyptratus A.M.C. Duméril & A.H.A. Duméril, 1851 veiled chameleon Yemen and Saudi Arabia Chamaeleo chamaeleon (Linnaeus, 1758) common chameleon S 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, 1819 flap-necked chameleon Congo, 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, 1844 graceful chameleon Central 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, 1863 smooth chameleon Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, North and South Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Central African Republic, Zambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Cameroon Chamaeleo monachus Gray, 1865 Socotran chameleon Yemen (Socotra Island) Chamaeleo namaquensis A. Smith, 1831 Namaqua chameleon South Angola, Namibia, Republic of South Africa Chamaeleo necasi Ullenbruch, P. Krause & Böhme, 2007 Nečas' flap-necked chameleon Togo, Benin Chamaeleo senegalensis Daudin, 1802 Senegal chameleon Tropical 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, 1768 Indian chameleon Sri 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
Image Scientific name Distribution †Chamaeleo caroliquarti Moody & Rocek, 1980 Czech Republic
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.
Reproduction
The genus Chamaeleo includes only oviparous species.
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.
Name
- Homonyms
- Chamaeleo Laurenti, 1768