Rieppeleon

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Rieppeleon
Rbrevi1.JPG
Male R. brevicaudatus
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Chamaeleonidae
Subfamily: Chamaeleoninae
Genus: Rieppeleon
Matthee, Tilbury & Townsend, 2004

Rieppeleon is a genus of small, typically brown chameleons found in forests and savannas in East Africa. Member species are found at low levels in bushes, or on the ground among grass or leaf litter. [1]

Contents

Etymology

The genus Rieppeleon was named after Swiss-born American herpetologist Olivier Rieppel (born 1951). [2] [3]

Taxonomy

Until recently, the species in the genus Rieppeleon were commonly included in the genus Rhampholeon instead.

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid. [4]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Rieppeleon brachyurus (Günther, 1893)beardless pygmy chameleonMalawi, Mozambique, and southeastern Tanzania.
Rieppeleon brevicaudatus M011.jpg Rieppeleon brevicaudatus (Matschie, 1892)bearded pygmy chameleoneastern Usambara and Uluguru Mountains in northeastern Tanzania and Kenya
Rieppeleon kerstenii.jpg Rieppeleon kerstenii (W. Peters, 1868)Kenya pygmy chameleoneastern Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and northeastern Tanzania


Nota bene : A binomial authority, or trinomial authority, in parentheses indicates that the species, or subspecies, was originally described in a genus other than Rieppeleon.

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References

  1. Spawls, S.; Drewes, R.; Ashe, J. (2002). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Cologne, Germany: Academic Press. ISBN   0-12-656470-1.
  2. Mattison, Chris; Garbutt, Nick (2012). Chameleons. United States: Firefly Books Inc. p. 92. ISBN   978-1-77085-121-4.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN   978-1-4214-0135-5. (Genus Rieppeleon, p. 221).
  4. Genus Rieppeleon at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading