The Antimena chameleon (''Furcifer antimena'') 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 ...

that is

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 ...

to southwest Madagascar. It was initially described by French naturalist

Alfred Grandidier Alfred Grandidier (20 December 1836 – 13 September 1921) was a French natural history, naturalist and List of explorers, explorer. From a very wealthy family, at the age of 20, he and his brother, Ernest Grandidier (1833–1912), undertook a ...

in 1872.

Distribution and habitat

''Furcifer antimena'' can be found in southwest Madagascar, more specifically between above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

mainly around Antsokay,

Toliara Toliara (also known as ''Toliary'', ; formerly ''Tuléar'') is a city in southern Madagascar. It is the capital of the Atsimo-Andrefana region, located 936 km southwest of the national capital Antananarivo. The current spelling of the name ...

and Ankotapiky. It is believed to occur over an area of ; the

Onilahy River Onilahy is a river in Atsimo-Andrefana and Anosy ( Toliara Province), southern Madagascar. It flows down from the hills near Betroka to the Mozambique Channel. It empties at St. Augustin (), and into the Bay of Saint-Augustin. Two species of cic ...

and Mangoky River both seem to be natural boundaries to the range of this species. ''Furcifer antimena'' was ranked as a

Vulnerable species A vulnerable species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being threatened species, threatened with extinction unless the circumstances that are threatened species, ...

by 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 ...

(IUCN) because it is found in an area where there is massive clearing of the forest for agriculture and charcoal production and because the population is believed to be declining.

Description

''Furcifer antimena'' males have a dorsal crest formed of about thirty cone-shaped scales, each of which is between in length. The males are green with yellow and/or whitish stripes, and females are fully dark green. Males can grow to a maximum length of , and females to . There is a projection on the tip of the snout which is larger in males than in females.

Biology

''Furcifer antimena'' typically lives among thorny scrub in 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 ...

locations. The female lays a clutch of between ten and fifteen eggs in a concealed position, burying them in sandy soil. The young hatch out about a year later.

Taxonomy

''Furcifer antimena'' was first described in 1872 by French naturalist and explorer

. It is commonly known as the Antimena chameleon after the name of the species. There are several

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

s: ''Chamaeleo antimena'' (Grandidier, 1872), ''Chamaeleon rhinoceratus lineatus'' (Methuen & Hewitt, 1913), and ''Furcifer antimena'' (Glaw & Vences, 1944).

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3022362 antimena

Vulnerable biota of Africa Reptiles described in 1872 Taxa named by Alfred Grandidier