The flap-necked chameleon (''Chamaeleo dilepis'') is a

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 arboreal

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 ...

, a

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

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. The species is native to

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 ...

. There are eight recognized

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 ...

, including the

nominotypical subspecies In 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), but that can successfully interbreed. ...

Subspecies

The following subspecies of the flap-necked chameleon are recognized as being valid. www.reptile-database.org. *''Chamaeleo dilepis dilepis'' – flap-necked chameleon *''Chamaeleo dilepis idjwiensis'' – Idjwi Island flap-necked chameleon *''Chamaeleo dilepis isabellinus'' – Isabelline flap-necked chameleon *''Chamaeleo dilepis martensi'' – Pemba Island flap-necked chameleon *''Chamaeleo dilepis petersii'' – Peters' flap-necked chameleon *''Chamaeleo dilepis quilensis'' *''Chamaeleo dilepis roperi'' *''Chamaeleo dilepis ruspolii''

Etymology

The

subspecific name In biology, trinomial nomenclature is the system of names for taxa below the rank of species. These names have three parts. The usage is different in zoology and botany. In zoology In zoological nomenclature, a trinomen (), trinominal name, or ...

''roperi'' is in honor of G.D. Trevor-Roper.Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Chameleo roperi'', p. 226; ''Chameleo ruspolii'', p. 229). The subspecific name ''ruspolii'' is in honor of Italian explorer Prince

Eugenio Ruspoli Prince Eugenio Ruspoli ( Țigănești, 6 January 1866 – near Burgi, Somalia, 4 December 1893) was an Italian explorer and naturalist. He was the author of the book ''Nel Paese della Mirra'', published in 1892. Biography Ruspoli belonged to th ...

Description

''Chamaeleo dilepis'' is a large

, reaching a total length (including tail) of . Colouring ranges through various shades of green, yellow, and brown. There is usually a pale stripe on the lower flanks and one to three pale patches higher on the flanks. 100 pp. . (''Chamaeleo dilepis'', pp. 87–88). Chamaeleo dilepis00.jpg Flap-necked chameleon chamaeleo dilepis.jpg Flap-necked chameleon (Chamaeleo dilepis) female 2.jpg, Juvenile female

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Geographic range and habitat

''Chamaeleo dilepis'' has a very wide distribution, occurring throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa from as far north as

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

to a western extreme of

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, and as far south as northern

. It inhabits coastal

forest A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...

, moist or dry

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...

and bushy

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominance (ecology), dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes such as clover, and other Herbaceo ...

s, and may also venture into rural and suburban areas.

Ecology

The adult female flap-necked chameleon lays 10-40 eggs in a hole dug in soil. The eggs take 10–12 months to hatch. The diet of ''C. dilepis'' includes a variety of

invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...

s, although large individuals may take

gecko Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates. They range from . Geckos are unique among lizards ...

s and other chameleons. The species is itself commonly preyed on by snakes such as the

boomslang The boomslang ( or ; ''Dispholidus typus'') is a highly venomous snake in the family Colubridae. The species is native to Sub-Saharan Africa. Etymology Its common name means "tree snake" in Dutch and Afrikaans – ''boom'' meaning "tree", and ...

and the

twig snake The twig snakes (genus ''Thelotornis''), also commonly known as bird snakes or vine snakes, are a genus of Opisthoglyphous, rear-fanged venomous snakes in the Family (biology), family Colubridae. The genus is native to Africa. All species in th ...

Conservation

The flap-necked chameleon is in heavy demand for the international pet trade, being the third most highly traded chameleon species. More than 111,000 individuals were exported between 1977 and 2011, mostly to the USA. No detrimental effects on the total population size have been observed so far, although more in-depth studies have been recommended. The species is currently classified as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

by the

IUCN 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 status ...