Palleon

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Palleon
Brookesia nasus 01.jpg
Palleon nasus
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Chamaeleonidae
Genus: Palleon
Glaw, Hawlitschek & Ruthensteiner, 2013
Type species
Brookesia nasus
Boulenger, 1887
Diversity
2 species

Palleon is a genus of small chameleons erected in 2013 for a small clade formerly assigned to the genus Brookesia . [1] The species of Palleon are endemic to Madagascar.

Species

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Chameleons or chamaeleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are most known for their distinct range of colors as they are able to shift in different hues and brightness. Because of the large number of species in their family, there is a large variability in their ability to change color. For some, it is more of a shift of brightness whereas others it is a plethora of combinations of colors.

<i>Bradypodion</i> Genus of lizards

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<i>Calumma</i> Genus of lizards

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<i>Brookesia</i> Genus of lizards

Brookesia is a genus of chameleons, endemic to Madagascar, that range from small to very small in size, and are known collectively as leaf chameleons. Brookesia includes species considered to be the world's smallest chameleons, and are also among the smallest reptiles. Members of the genus Brookesia are largely brown and most are essentially terrestrial.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Albanerpetontidae</span> Family of amphibians

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<i>Anolis barbatus</i> Species of lizard

Anolis barbatus is a species of anole lizard from Western Cuba. Adults have an average snout–vent length of up to 18 cm (7 in), with tails that are slightly shorter than their bodies, and demonstrate little sexual dimorphism. It is one of six species called "false chameleons" that sometimes are recognized as their own genus Chamaeleolis or as the Cuban clade in Xiphosurus. These are all native to Cuba, fairly large for anoles, have robust heads, are dull gray-brown in color, have blunt teeth used for crushing snails and insects, which are their main diet. Unusually among anoles, these all lack the ability to autotomize their tails. Together with the similar, but not closely related A. landestoyi of Hispaniola, they form a group known as the twig–giant ecomorph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chamaeleoninae</span> Subfamily of lizards

Chamaeleoninae is the nominotypical subfamily of chameleons. The Family Chamaeleonidae was divided into two subfamilies, Brookesiinae and Chamaeleoninae, by Klaver and Böhme in 1986. Since its erection in 1986, however, the validity of this subfamily designation has been the subject of much debate, although most phylogenetic studies support the notion that the pygmy chameleons of the subfamily Brookesiinae are not a monophyletic group. While some authorities have previously preferred to use the subfamilial classification on the basis of the absence of evidence principal, these authorities later abandoned this subfamilial division, no longer recognizing any subfamilies with the family Chamaeleonidae. In 2015, however, Glaw reworked the subfamilial division by placing only the genera Brookesia and Palleon within the Brookesiinae subfamily, with all other genera being placed in Chamaeleoninae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brookesiinae</span> Subfamily of lizards

The Family Chamaeleonidae was divided into two subfamilies, Brookesiinae and Chamaeleoninae, by Klaver and Böhme in 1986. Under this classification, Brookesiinae included the genera Brookesia and Rhampholeon, as well as the genera later split off from them. The Brookesiinae are small, often brown in colour, and occur in central Africa and Madagascar. They have terrestrial habits, or may be found in the lower levels of shrubs. Since its erection in 1986, however, the validity of this subfamily designation has been the subject of much debate, although most phylogenetic studies support the notion that the pygmy chameleons of the subfamily Brookesiinae are not a monophyletic group. While some authorities have previously preferred to use the subfamilial classification on the basis of the absence of evidence principal, these authorities later abandoned this subfamilial division, no longer recognizing any subfamilies with the family Chamaeleonidae. In 2015, however, Glaw reworked the subfamilial division by placing only the genera Brookesia and Palleon within the Brookesiinae subfamily, with all other genera being placed in Chamaeleoninae.

<i>Palleon lolontany</i> Species of lizard

Palleon lolontany is a species of chameleon endemic to Madagascar. It was first described by Raxworthy and Nussbaum in 1995 as Brookesia lolontany. It was since placed in the genus Palleon when that genus was erected in 2013. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) rated the species as Near Threatened.

<i>Palleon nasus</i> Species of lizard

Palleon nasus, commonly known as the elongate leaf chameleon, is a species of chameleon endemic to Madagascar. It was initially described by Boulenger in 1887. The species contains two subspecies, P. n. nasus and P. n. pauliani. It grows no more than 9 cm.

<i>Barbaturex</i> Extinct genus of lizards

Barbaturex is an extinct genus of giant herbivorous iguanian lizards from the Eocene of Myanmar. It is represented by a single species, Barbaturex morrisoni, which is known from several partial dentaries and a fused pair of frontals, two bones that form part of the top of the skull. Based on the size of these bones, Barbaturex morrisoni is estimated to have been about 1 metre (3.3 ft) from snout to vent, and possibly up to 6 feet (1.8 m) including the tail. Barbaturex morrisoni was named after The Doors frontman Jim Morrison, a play on his epithet "The Lizard King". The genus's name is a portmanteau of the Latin words Barbatus and rex, meaning "bearded king", in reference to ridges along the mandible and the lizard's large size.

Scapanops is an extinct genus of dissorophid temnospondyl amphibian known from the Early Permian Nocona Formation of north-central Texas, United States. It contains only the type species Scapanops neglecta, which was named by Rainer R. Schoch and Hans-Dieter Sues in 2013. Scapanops differs from other dissorophids in having a very small skull table, which means that its eye sockets are unusually close to the back of the skull. The eye sockets are also very large and spaced far apart. Scapanops was probably small-bodied with a proportionally large head and short trunk and tail. Like other dissorophids, it probably spent most of its life on land.

References

  1. Glaw, F.; Hawlitschek, O. & Ruthensteiner, B. (2013). "A new genus name for an ancient Malagasy chameleon clade and a PDF-embedded 3D model of its skeleton". Salamandra. 49: 237–238.