Rhampholeon
Rhampholeon (from Greek: ῥάμφος rhamphos, 'bird's bill' and Greek: λέον leōn, 'lion')[1] is a genus of small chameleons, commonly known as pygmy chameleons or African leaf chameleons, found in central East Africa (extending slightly into adjacent DR Congo). They are found in forests, woodlands, thickets, and savanna, and most species are restricted to highlands. They are brown, grey, or green, and typically seen at low levels in bushes, or on the ground among grasses or leaf litter.
| Rhampholeon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Rhampholeon temporalis | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Chamaeleonidae |
| Subfamily: | Chamaeleoninae |
| Genus: | Rhampholeon Günther, 1874 |
Species
The following 25 species are recognized as being valid.[2]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rhampholeon acuminatus Mariaux & Tilbury, 2006 | Nguru pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. | |
| Rhampholeon beraduccii Mariaux & Tilbury, 2006 | Beraducci’s pygmy chameleon, Mahenge pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. | |
| Rhampholeon boulengeri Steindachner, 1911 | Boulenger's pygmy chameleon | Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda | |
| Rhampholeon bruessoworum Branch, Bayliss & Tolley, 2014 | Mount Inago pygmy chameleon | Mozambique | |
| Rhampholeon chapmanorum Tilbury, 1992 | Chapmans's pygmy chameleon | Malawi. | |
| Rhampholeon colemani Menegon, Lyakurwa, Loader, & Tolley, 2022 | Tanzania. | ||
| Rhampholeon gorongosae Broadley 1971 | Mount Gorongosa pygmy chameleon | Mozambique. | |
| Rhampholeon hattinghi Tilbury & Tolley, 2015 | Democratic Republic of the Congo. | ||
 | Rhampholeon marshalli Boulenger, 1906 | Marshall's pygmy chameleon, Marshall's leaf chameleon, Marshall's dwarf chameleon, Marshall's stumptail chameleon | Zimbabwe and Mozambique |
| Rhampholeon maspictus Branch, Bayliss & Tolley, 2014 | Mount Mabu pygmy chameleon | Mozambique | |
 | Rhampholeon moyeri Menegon, Salvidio & Tilbury, 2002 | Moyer’s pygmy chameleon, Udzungwa pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. |
| Rhampholeon nchisiensis (Loveridge, 1953) | South African stumptail chameleon, Nchisi pygmy chameleon | Malawi and Tanzania | |
| Rhampholeon nebulauctor Branch, Bayliss & Tolley, 2014 | Mount Chiperone pygmy chameleon | Mozambique. | |
| Rhampholeon nicolai Menegon, Lyakurwa, Loader, & Tolley, 2022 | Nicola’s pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. | |
| Rhampholeon platyceps Günther, 1893 | Mount Mulanje pygmy chameleon, Malawi stumptail chameleon | Malawi and Mozambique | |
| Rhampholeon princeeai Menegon, Lyakurwa, Loader, & Tolley, 2022 | Princeeai’s pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. | |
| Rhampholeon rubeho Menegon, Lyakurwa, Loader, & Tolley, 2022 | Rubeho’s pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. | |
| Rhampholeon sabini Menegon, Lyakurwa, Loader, & Tolley, 2022 | Nguu North pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. | |
_(7668008064).jpg.webp) | Rhampholeon spectrum (Buchholz, 1874) | spectral pygmy chameleon, western pygmy chameleon, Cameroon stumptail chameleon | Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea,Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Gabon, |
 | Rhampholeon spinosus (Matschie, 1892) | rosette-nosed pygmy chameleon | Tanzania |
 | Rhampholeon temporalis (Matschie, 1892) | Usambara stumptail chameleon, East Usambara pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. |
_Figure_4_(cropped).jpg.webp) | Rhampholeon tilburyi Branch, Bayliss & Tolley, 2014 | Mount Namuli pygmy chameleon | Mozambique. |
| Rhampholeon uluguruensis Tilbury & Emmrich, 1996 | Uluguru pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. | |
| Rhampholeon viridis Mariaux & Tilbury, 2006 | green pygmy chameleon | Tanzania. | |
| Rhampholeon waynelotteri Menegon, Lyakurwa, Loader, & Tolley, 2022 | Tanzania. | ||
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Rhampholeon.
References
- Hunter, Robert; Morris, Charles (1906). The Modern world dictionary of the English language ... to which is added a compendium of historical, biographical, geographical, scientific, religious, and sociological names, and a complete summary of human achievement in the nineteenth & twentieth centuries . New York : P.F. Collier & Son. p. 3999.
- "Rhampholeon ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
Further reading
- Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Chamæleontidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Genus Rhampholeon, p. 475).
- Branch WR (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. ISBN 0-88359-042-5. (Genus Rhampholeon, p. 228).
- Branch WR, Bayliss J, Tolley KA (2014). "Pygmy chameleons of the Rhampholeon platyceps compex (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae): Description of four new species from isolated 'sky islands' of northern Mozambique". Zootaxa. 3814 (3814): 1–36. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3814.1.1. PMID 24943411.
- Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology: Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. (Genus Rhampholeon, p. 289).
- Günther A (1874). "Descriptions of some new or imperfectly known Species of Reptiles from the Camaroon [sic] Mountains". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1874: 442-445. (Rhampholeon, new genus, p. 444).
- Spawls S, Drewes R, Ashe J (2002). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Köln: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-656470-1.
- Tilbury, Colin (2010). Chameleons of Africa, An Atlas including the chameleons of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Frankfurt: Edition Chimaira.
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