''Chamaeleo'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

s in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Chamaeleonidae. Most

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of the genus ''Chamaeleo'' are found in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

, but a few

are also present in

northern Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

southern Europe Southern Europe is also known as Mediterranean Europe, as its geography is marked by the Mediterranean Sea. Definitions of southern Europe include some or all of these countries and regions: Albania, Andorra, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, C ...

, and southern

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

east to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

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 A prehensile tail is the tail of an animal that has Adaptation (biology), adapted to grasp or hold objects. Fully Prehensility, prehensile tails can be used to hold and manipulate objects, and in particular to aid arboreal creatures in finding and ...

, and special leg adaptations for grasping

vegetation Vegetation is an assemblage of plants and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular Taxon, taxa, life forms, structure, Spatial ecology, spatial extent, or any other specific Botany, botanic ...

. Males are generally larger and more colorful than females. Almost all species have a maximum snout-vent length (SVL) between .

Behavior

The vast majority of ''Chamaeleo'' species are

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally (scansorial), but others are exclusively arboreal. The hab ...

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 Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...

species.

In captivity

With few exceptions, the chameleons most commonly seen in captivity are all members of the genus ''Chamaeleo''; the most commonly found species in the pet trade (as well as through captive breeders) include the

common Common may refer to: As an Irish surname, it is anglicised from Irish Gaelic surname Ó Comáin. Places * Common, a townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland * Boston Common, a central public park in Boston, Massachusetts * Cambridge Com ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

, and veiled chameleons, but all chameleons tend to require special care, and are generally suited to the intermediate or advanced reptile keeper.

Taxonomy

''Chamaeleo'' is the

type genus In biological taxonomy, the type genus (''genus typica'') is the genus which defines a biological family and the root of the family name. Zoological nomenclature According to the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, "The name-bearin ...

of the

Chamaeleonidae. All other

genera Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family as used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial s ...

of "traditional chameleons" in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Chamaeleoninae ('' Archaius'', '' Bradypodion'', ''

Calumma ''Calumma'' is a genus of chameleons, highly adapted and specialised lizards, in the Family (biology), family Chamaeleonidae. The genus is endemic to the island of Madagascar. One species, formerly known as ''Calumma tigris'' (the Seychelles tige ...

'', ''

Furcifer ''Furcifer'' is a genus of chameleons whose member species are mostly endemic to Madagascar, but ''F. cephalolepis'' and ''F. polleni'' are endemic to the Comoros. Additionally, ''F. pardalis'' has been Introduced species, introduced to Réunion, ...

'', '' 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 In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognized for some species.. www.reptile-database.org. ''

Nota bene ( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''. In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...

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

Fossils

References

External links

* http://www.chameleoninfo.com/Species_Profiles.html {{Authority control Taxa named by Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti Lizard genera