Trioceros | |
---|---|
Jackson's three-horned chameleon (Trioceros jacksonii ) | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Family: | Chamaeleonidae |
Subfamily: | Chamaeleoninae |
Genus: | Trioceros Swainson, 1839 |
Type species | |
Chamaeleo oweni |
Trioceros is a genus of lizards in the family Chamaeleonidae, the chameleons, native to lowlands and highlands in the African mainland, ranging from Ethiopia south to Mozambique and west as far as Ghana. Trioceros was considered a subgenus of the genus Chamaeleo until 2009, when it was elevated to full genus level. [2]
Trioceros vary greatly in appearance and size. Many species in the genus have various ornaments, such as one to four horns on the head, crests on the nape or throat, or spines or sail-like structures on the top of the back or tail. They are primarily found in adult males, but generally reduced or even absent in females, and there are also many species in the genus where both sexes lack conspicuous ornaments. Although horn-like structures are found in certain other chameleon genera, Trioceros is the only where it can be cylindrical, annulated and bony. [2]
Trioceros contains species that lay eggs (similar to most other chameleon genera) and species that give birth to live young (similar to only Bradypodion ). It is likely that giving birth to live young is an adaption to temperature, as it in Trioceros generally is found in species from highlands. The relatively cold highland climate slows the development of eggs laid in the ground; when instead retained inside the body until birth, a female can actively sun bask to increase the temperature. [3]
The following species and subspecies are recognized as being valid. [4]
Image | Name | Common Name | Subspecies | Distribution |
---|---|---|---|---|
Trioceros affinis (Rüppell, 1845) | beardless Ethiopian montane chameleon, Rüppell's desert chameleon | Ethiopia. | ||
Trioceros balebicornutus (Tilbury, 1998) | Bale two-horned chameleon | Ethiopia. | ||
Trioceros bitaeniatus (Fischer, 1884) | side-striped chameleon, two-lined chameleon | Ethiopia, southern Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. | ||
Trioceros camerunensis (L. Müller, 1909) | Cameroon dwarf chameleon | Cameroon. | ||
Trioceros chapini (de Witte, 1964) | Chapin's chameleon, [5] grey chameleon | Gabon and Democratic Republic of the Congo. | ||
Trioceros conirostratus (Tilbury, 1998) | South Sudanese unicorn chameleon | South Sudan and Uganda. | ||
Trioceros cristatus (Stutchbury, 1837) | crested chameleon, fringed chameleon | Bioko, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Ghana, and Togo. | ||
Trioceros deremensis (Matschie, 1892) | Usambara giant three-horned chameleon, wavy chameleon | East Usambara, Uluguru, Nguu and Nguru Mountains, and Udzungwa Mountains. | ||
Trioceros ellioti (Günther, 1895) | Elliot's chameleon, [6] montane side-striped chameleon, Elliot's groove-throated chameleon | Burundi, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo. | ||
Trioceros feae (Boulenger, 1906) | Bioko hornless chameleon, Bioko montane chameleon, Fea's chameleon | Bioko. | ||
Trioceros fuelleborni (Tornier, 1900) | (named after Friedrich Fülleborn), [7] flapjack chameleon, Ngosi Volcano chameleon, Poroto three-horned chameleon, mountain three-horned chameleon | Tanzania | ||
Trioceros goetzei (Tornier, 1899) | Goetze's chameleon, [8] Ilolo chameleon, Goetze's whistling chameleon |
| Tanzania and Malawi. | |
Trioceros hanangensis Krause & Böhme , 2010 | Mount Hanang montane dwarf chameleon, Mount Hanang chameleon | Tanzania | ||
Trioceros harennae (Largen, 1995) | Harenna hornless chameleon | Ethiopia | ||
Trioceros hoehnelii (Steindachner, 1891) | helmeted chameleon, high-casqued chameleon, von Höhnel's chameleon [10] | Kenya and Uganda | ||
Trioceros incornutus (Loveridge, 1932) | Ukinga hornless chameleon | Tanzania | ||
Trioceros ituriensis (K.P. Schmidt, 1919) | Ituri forest chameleon | Democratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya. | ||
Trioceros jacksonii (Boulenger, 1896) | Jackson's chameleon [11] |
| south-central Kenya and northern Tanzania. | |
Trioceros johnstoni (Boulenger, 1901) | Johnston's chameleon, [12] Johnston's three-horned chameleon, Ruwenzori three-horned chameleon | Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda | ||
Trioceros kinangopensis Stipala et al., 2012 | Aberdare Mountains dwarf chameleon | Kenya. | ||
Trioceros kinetensis (K.P. Schmidt, 1943) | Mount Kineti montane dwarf chameleon, Mount Kineti chameleon | South Sudan. | ||
Trioceros laterispinis (Loveridge, 1932) | spiny-flanked chameleon | Tanzania. | ||
Trioceros marsabitensis (Tilbury, 1991) | Marsabit one-horned chameleon, Mt. Marsabit chameleon, Tilbury's chameleon | Kenya. | ||
Trioceros melleri (Gray, 1865) | giant one-horned chameleon, Meller's chameleon, [13] Meller's giant one-horned chameleon | Malawi, northern Mozambique, and Tanzania | ||
Trioceros montium (Buchholz, 1874) | Cameroon sailfin chameleon | Cameroon. | ||
Trioceros narraioca (Nečas, Modrý & Šlapeta, 2003) | Mount Kulal chameleon or Mount Kulal stump-nosed chameleon | Kenya | ||
Trioceros ntunte (Nečas, Modry & Slapeta, 2005) | Mount Nyiru chameleon, Nyiru montane dwarf chameleon | Kenya | ||
Trioceros nyirit Stipala et al., 2011 | Mount Mtelo stump-nosed chameleon, Pokot chameleon | Kenya | ||
Trioceros oweni (Gray, 1831) | Owen's chameleon [14] | Nigeria in the north, to Angola in the south, and Burundi in the east | ||
Trioceros perreti (Klaver & Böhme, 1992) | Perret's chameleon, [15] Perret's montane chameleon | Cameroon. | ||
Trioceros pfefferi (Tornier, 1900) | Pfeffer's two-horned chameleon, [16] Pfeffer's chameleon, Bakossi two-horned chameleon | Cameroon. | ||
Trioceros quadricornis (Tornier, 1899) | four-horned chameleon |
| western Cameroon and southeastern Nigeria. | |
Trioceros rudis (Boulenger, 1906) | coarse chameleon, rough chameleon, Ruwenzori side-striped chameleon, Rwenzori bearded montane dwarf chameleon | western Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and eastern DR Congo | ||
Trioceros schoutedeni (Laurent, 1952) | Schouteden's montane dwarf chameleon [17] | Rwanda and Democratic Republic of the Congo. | ||
Trioceros schubotzi (Sternfeld, 1912) | Mount Kenya montane dwarf chameleon, Mount Kenya side-striped chameleon, Schubotz's chameleon [18] | Kenya | ||
Trioceros serratus (Mertens, 1922) | Cameroon | |||
Trioceros sternfeldi (Rand, 1963) | (named after Richard Sternfeld), [19] Crater Highlands side-striped chameleon, Tanzanian montane dwarf chameleon | Tanzania | ||
Trioceros tempeli (Tornier, 1899) | Tanzania mountain chameleon, Tempel's chameleon, [20] Udzungwa double-bearded chameleon | Tanzania | ||
Trioceros werneri (Tornier, 1899) | Werner's chameleon, [21] Wemer's chameleon, Wemer's three-horned chameleon | Tanzania | ||
Trioceros wiedersheimi (Nieden, 1910) | Mount Lefo chameleon, Wiedersheim's chameleon [22] | Cameroon and Nigeria | ||
Trioceros wolfgangboehmei Koppetsch, Nečas & Wipfler, 2021 | Ethiopia. | |||
Nota bene : In the above list, a binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Trioceros.
Chameleons or chamaeleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 200 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colours, being capable of colour-shifting camouflage. The large number of species in the family exhibit considerable variability in their capacity to change colour. For some, it is more of a shift of brightness ; for others, a plethora of colour-combinations can be seen.
Bradypodion is a genus of chameleons in the family Chamaeleonidae, collectively called South African dwarf chameleons. All species are found in South Africa and most are endemic to this country, but a few can also be found in Eswatini, Lesotho, southernmost Namibia and possibly southernmost Mozambique. They are quite small chameleons where the different species often can be difficult to separate by appearance, although exact location and the intense breeding colours of males are useful for their identification. They are arboreal, but some species are mostly found low in the vegetation.
Chamaeleo is a genus of chameleons in the family Chamaeleonidae. Most species of the genus Chamaeleo are found in sub-Saharan Africa, but a few species are also present in northern Africa, southern Europe, and southern Asia east to India and Sri Lanka.
Jackson's chameleon, also known commonly as Jackson's horned chameleon, the three-horned chameleon, and the Kikuyu three-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is native to East Africa, and introduced to Hawaii, Florida, and California. There are three recognized subspecies.
Kinyongia is a genus of chameleons found in montane and sub-montane areas in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and far eastern DR Congo. They are restricted to forests, woodlands and other wooded habitats, and many species have very small geographic ranges. In most species, at least the males have horns or knobs on their noses. As typical of most chameleons, Kinyongia are oviparous.
Trioceros johnstoni, known commonly as Johnston's chameleon, Johnston's three-horned chameleon, or the Ruwenzori three-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. It is endemic to highlands in the Albertine Rift in central Africa. It reaches up to 30 cm (12 in) in total length and only the adult male has three horns; females are hornless.
Trioceros melleri, with the common names Meller's chameleon and giant one-horned chameleon, is the largest species of chameleon from the African mainland.
Kinyongia carpenteri, commonly called Carpenter's chameleon or the helmeted chameleon, is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is native to central Africa.
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.
Owen's chameleon, also commonly known as Owen's three-horned chameleon, is a species of lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is native to forests in central Africa. Named after British naval officer and explorer William Fitzwilliam Owen, it was first described in 1831 by the naturalist John Edward Gray, and is the type species of the genus Trioceros.
The four-horned chameleon is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is native to highland areas in western Cameroon and southeastern Nigeria.
Calumma guillaumeti is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.
Calumma hilleniusi is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar.
Trioceros chapini, also known commonly as Chapin's chameleon, the gray chameleon, and the grey chameleon, is a species of lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is native to Central Africa.
Trioceros feae, also known commonly as the Bioko montane chameleon and Fea's chameleon, is a species of lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to the island of Bioko.
Trioceros fuelleborni, also known commonly as the flapjack chameleon, the Ngosi Volcano chameleon, and the Poroto three-horned chameleon, is a species of lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Tanzania.
Trioceros goetzei, also known commonly as Goetze's chameleon, Goetze's whistling chameleon, and the Ilolo chameleon, is a species of lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is native to eastern Africa. There are two recognized subspecies.
Trioceros harennae, also known commonly as the Harenna hornless chameleon, is a species of lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Ethiopia. There are two recognized subspecies.
Trioceros werneri, the Wemer's chameleon or Wemer's three-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon that is endemic to forests and nearby gardens at altitudes of 1,700–2,600 m (5,600–8,500 ft) in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. The adult male has three distinct "horns", whereas the female has no or only a single short horn on the nose. Like many Trioceros species of highlands, the female T. werneri does not lay eggs, but instead gives birth to live young, typically 15–20 at a time.
Chamaeleo intermedius is an extinct species of chameleon from the Miocene of Kenya. It was given its name based on the fact that it shares traits with both species of the genus Chamaeleo and those of Trioceros, which at the time were placed in the same genus. This belief that it was an intermediate form was however rejected by later research.