Chamaeleo calcarifer was described by Peters in 1870 as Chamaeleo calcaratus and the type locality was erroneously given as Bembatuka [= Bombetoka] (in error for Arabian Peninsula; probably near Aden, Yemen).
Chameleons do not tend to build permanent pairs.
The Machakos population of the Jackson's Three-horned Chameleon, Trioceros jacksonii, is the one where the males are exceptionally colorful.
There is a cute story about the recently deceased Queeen Elizabeth II: she had a pet chameleon when young…
The Giant Jackson´s Chameleon, Trioceros jacksonii xantholophus is a real jewel,
A discoloration in a wild female of Furcifer pardalis from N of Ambilobe, Madagascar was observed in December 2019.🙂
The handbook of Amphibians and Reptiles of North-East Africa, has finally found a way into my collection!
In the beginning of eighties, Johannes Peter Fritz and Felix Schütte were the first brave travellers collecting herpetological data in Yemen. They also collected some data on the Yemen chameleon.
The UV light is a very important factor for the chameleons, being of vital and lethal significance for them. It helps them to survive and kills them at same time. Learn more about UV light in the wide context of chameleon life on this video:
Follow me on a trip to southern Turkey to see chameleons in their natural biotope and explore with me their association with water bodies, fog and dew…
There is a myth about Arabian Chameleons (Chamaeleo arabicus) from Oman, saying that populations east of Salalah live on the ground, are colored dark brown to black, never changing to yellow and green...
Reptile keeping is fraught with challenges, over the years many of these have been overcome by the inclusion of new products to aid in providing better welfare to our animals...
The Chamaeleon tongue has a spectacular ability to be shot for quite a distance to catch prey.
Amongst chameleons, some species of the genera Calumma, Chamaeleo and Trioceros possess a strange structure on the back of their heads: the occipital flaps.
A new montane chameleon from the Bale Mts., Ethiopia, Trioceros wolfgangboehmei has been described today...
Fantastic adventure to find them and observe their life story even in a country that turned almost all coastline to a beach/hotel/holiday stripe emarginated by destroyed and modified biotopes...
Chameleons are fantastic beings that if respected and observed us very interesting stories and explain smany things, normally hidden from us.
Humans and chameleons have much in common. Especially those of us who like them and keep them and/or study them.
...You will hear people shouting from all corners...
The Yemen Chameleon (Veiled Chameleon) is one of the most popular chameleon species in captivity today. Yet it is one of the mostly misunderstood and miss handled a Chameleons in captivity. Let us please finally understand it's climatic requirements to make them comfortable and thriving in captivity and not suffering...
It is defined by some of the most competent people like this (IUCN):
Let us use the scientific names instead of vernacular ones...
Meller's Chameleons are absolutely stunning animals, unfortunately, in captivity, lots of myths are parotted, that are not true or only partly and in fact are a barrier for spreading this stunning species in captivity...
Furcifer pardalis is a superspecies: a group of populations of various level of mutual relatedness: some are genetically so distant from each other that they can be considered a separate species, some are very close to each other. This study just opens the door to our understanding of their differences in size, color, life history and gives first...
Chmaleleons of the bigger size categories (like Chamaeleo calyptratus, arabicus, zeylanicus; Furcifer pardalis, oustaleti, verrucosus; Trioceros melleri etc.) feed in the wild predominantly on small flying insects, pollinators. They are however capable of eating much bigger prey: a lizard, small rodent or bird...
Chameleons inhabit naturally-autochtoneously three continents:
Africa incl. Madagascar and many off-shore Islands (vast majority of species)Asia (from ear East to India and Sri Lanka) and Europe (here only some eastern Mediterranean islands)...
A new study presents a detailed examination of the best preserved chameleon fossil skull known, using micro-CT scans, geometric morphometrics and phylogenetic methods. An early Miocene fossil from Rusinga Island (early Miocene, Lake Victoria, Kenya), is assigned to genus Calumma, opening a wide field for interpretation of the origin of chameleons...
A new study analyzed the karyotypes of six Furcifer species and finds chromosomal variability among the species, with diploid (2n) chromosomal counts of 22-28 and distinct Z and W sex chromosomes with female heterogamety in all species, however four species expressed multiple neo-sex chromosomes.
