''Calumma fallax'', the deceptive chameleon or short-nosed deceptive chameleon is a species of
chameleon
Chameleons or chamaeleons (Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this Family (biology), family are best known for ...
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
François Mocquard
François Mocquard (27 October 1834 – 19 March 1917) was a French herpetologist born in Leffond, Haute-Saône.
In 1860 he was named ''préparateur du physique'' after receiving his Bachelor of Science degree at the Faculty of Besançon. Subseque ...
in 1900 as ''Chamaeleon fallax'', and it was first recognized as ''Calumma fallax'' in 1986. It is a member of the
Chamaeleoninae
Chamaeleoninae is the nominotypical subfamily of chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae). The Family Chamaeleonidae was divided into two subfamilies, Brookesiinae and Chamaeleoninae, by Klaver and Böhme in 1986. Since its erection in 1986, however, ...
nominotypical subfamily of chameleons, and is believed to be found over an area of , although the population is unknown.
Distribution and habitat
''Calumma fallax'' is endemic to eastern Madagascar, and has a type locality of the Ikongo forest, Madagascar. It can be found at a mid-altitude over an area of about , although this is not confirmed. The
International Union for Conservation of Nature
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...
have classed this species as "
data deficient
A data deficient (DD) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as offering insufficient information for a proper assessment of conservation status to be made. This does not necessaril ...
", as not enough information on this species is available to correctly classify it. The population of this species is unknown and no population trend is known. It is found in an area where the habitat is affected by the
slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn agriculture is a form of shifting cultivation that involves the cutting and burning of plants in a forest or woodland to create a Field (agriculture), field called a swidden. The method begins by cutting down the trees and woody p ...
agricultural method, bushfires, and
logging
Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidder, skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or trunk (botany), logs onto logging truck, trucks and accepted as valid by Werner 11 years later under the same name. In 1986, Klaver and moved it to the genus ''Calumma''. This combination has been accepted in later studies.
Description
''Calumma fallax'' is a medium-sized chameleon, with males measuring and females in
snout–vent length
Snout–vent length (SVL) is a morphometric measurement taken in herpetology from the tip of the snout to the most posterior opening of the cloacal slit (vent)."direct line distance from tip of snout to posterior margin of vent" It is the mos ...