Trioceros

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Trioceros
Jackson's Chameleon444.jpg
Jackson's three-horned chameleon
(Trioceros jacksonii )
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: Trioceros
Swainson, 1839
Type species
Chamaeleo oweni
Gray, 1831 [1]

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]

Contents

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]

Species and subspecies

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

ImageNameCommon NameSubspeciesDistribution
Trioceros affinis
(Rüppell, 1845)		beardless Ethiopian montane chameleon, Rüppell's desert chameleonEthiopia.
Bale mountains two-horned chameleon (Trioceros balebicornutus).jpg Trioceros balebicornutus
(Tilbury, 1998)		 Bale two-horned chameleonEthiopia.
Trioceros bitaeniatus mtkenya side.jpg Trioceros bitaeniatus
(Fischer, 1884)		side-striped chameleon, two-lined chameleonEthiopia, southern Sudan, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Bonn zoological bulletin - Trioceros camerunensis.jpg Trioceros camerunensis
(L. Müller, 1909)		 Cameroon dwarf chameleonCameroon.
Trioceros chapini
(de Witte, 1964)		 Chapin's chameleon, [5] grey chameleonGabon and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Trioceros conirostratus
(Tilbury, 1998)		South Sudanese unicorn chameleonSouth Sudan and Uganda.
Crested Chameleon (Trioceros cristatus) (7651130584).jpg Trioceros cristatus
(Stutchbury, 1837)		crested chameleon, fringed chameleonBioko, Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Nigeria, Ghana, and Togo.
Usambara-Dreihornchamaleon Chamaeleo deremensis.jpg Trioceros deremensis
(Matschie, 1892)		 Usambara giant three-horned chameleon, wavy chameleonEast Usambara, Uluguru, Nguu and Nguru Mountains, and Udzungwa Mountains.
Ellioti.jpg Trioceros ellioti
(Günther, 1895)		 Elliot's chameleon, [6] montane side-striped chameleon, Elliot's groove-throated chameleonBurundi, Kenya, South Sudan, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Trioceros feae
(Boulenger, 1906)		 Bioko hornless chameleon, Bioko montane chameleon, Fea's chameleonBioko.
Trioceros fuelleborni
(Tornier, 1900)		(named after Friedrich Fülleborn), [7] flapjack chameleon, Ngosi Volcano chameleon, Poroto three-horned chameleon, mountain three-horned chameleonTanzania
Trioceros goetzei
(Tornier, 1899)		 Goetze's chameleon, [8] Ilolo chameleon, Goetze's whistling chameleon
  • Trioceros goetzei goetzei(Tornier, 1899) – Goetze's whistling chameleon
  • Trioceros goetzei nyikae(Loveridge, 1953) – Nyika whistling chameleon
Tanzania and Malawi.
Trioceros hanangensis
Krause & Böhme  [ de ], 2010		 Mount Hanang montane dwarf chameleon, Mount Hanang chameleonTanzania
Trioceros harennae
(Largen, 1995)		Harenna hornless chameleon
  • Trioceros harennae harennae(Largen, 1995) – Harenna hornless chameleon
  • Trioceros harennae fitchi(Nečas, 2004) – Fitch's Harenna hornless chameleon [9]
Ethiopia
Lizard kenya.jpg Trioceros hoehnelii
(Steindachner, 1891)		helmeted chameleon, high-casqued chameleon, von Höhnel's chameleon [10] Kenya and Uganda
Trioceros incornutus
(Loveridge, 1932)		Ukinga hornless chameleonTanzania
Trioceros ituriensis
(K.P. Schmidt, 1919)		Ituri forest chameleonDemocratic Republic of the Congo and Kenya.
Starr-120312-3686-Psidium guajava-branches with Jacksons chameleon-Enchanting Floral Gardens of Kula-Maui (24841956880).jpg Trioceros jacksonii
(Boulenger, 1896)		 Jackson's chameleon [11]
  • Trioceros jacksonii jacksonii(Boulenger, 1896) – Jackson's three-horned chameleon
  • Trioceros jacksonii merumontanus(Rand, 1958) – dwarf Jackson's chameleon
  • Trioceros jacksonii xantholophus(Eason, Ferguson & Hebrard, 1988) – Mount Kenya three-horned chameleon, yellow-crested Jackson's chameleon
south-central Kenya and northern Tanzania.
Ruwenzori three-horned chameleon - close up.JPG Trioceros johnstoni
(Boulenger, 1901)		 Johnston's chameleon, [12] Johnston's three-horned chameleon, Ruwenzori three-horned chameleonDemocratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, and Uganda
Trioceros kinangopensis
Stipala et al., 2012		Aberdare Mountains dwarf chameleonKenya.
Trioceros kinetensis
(K.P. Schmidt, 1943)		Mount Kineti montane dwarf chameleon, Mount Kineti chameleonSouth Sudan.
Trioceros laterispinis
(Loveridge, 1932)		spiny-flanked chameleonTanzania.
Trioceros marsabitensis
(Tilbury, 1991)		 Marsabit one-horned chameleon, Mt. Marsabit chameleon, Tilbury's chameleonKenya.
Mellers.chameleon.bristol.zoo.arp.jpg Trioceros melleri
(Gray, 1865)		giant one-horned chameleon, Meller's chameleon, [13] Meller's giant one-horned chameleonMalawi, northern Mozambique, and Tanzania
Chamaeleo montium.jpg Trioceros montium
(Buchholz, 1874)		Cameroon sailfin chameleonCameroon.
Trioceros narraioca
(Nečas, Modrý & Šlapeta, 2003)		 Mount Kulal chameleon or Mount Kulal stump-nosed chameleonKenya
Trioceros ntunte
(Nečas, Modry & Slapeta, 2005)		Mount Nyiru chameleon, Nyiru montane dwarf chameleonKenya
Trioceros nyirit
Stipala et al., 2011		Mount Mtelo stump-nosed chameleon, Pokot chameleonKenya
Bonn zoological bulletin - Trioceros oweni (male).jpg 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 chameleonCameroon.
Bonn zoological bulletin - Trioceros pfefferi (male).jpg Trioceros pfefferi
(Tornier, 1900)		 Pfeffer's two-horned chameleon, [16] Pfeffer's chameleon, Bakossi two-horned chameleonCameroon.
Bonn zoological bulletin - Trioceros quadricornis.jpg Trioceros quadricornis
(Tornier, 1899)		four-horned chameleon
  • Trioceros quadricornis quadricornis(Tornier, 1899) – southern four-horned chameleon
  • Trioceros quadricornis eisentrauti(Mertens, 1968) – Rumpi Hills chameleon
  • Trioceros quadricornis gracilior
    (Böhme & Klaver, 1981) – northern four-horned chameleon
western Cameroon and southeastern Nigeria.
Rough chameleon (Trioceros rudis).jpg Trioceros rudis
(Boulenger, 1906)		coarse chameleon, rough chameleon, Ruwenzori side-striped chameleon, Rwenzori bearded montane dwarf chameleonwestern 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 chameleonTanzania
Tubercle-nosed Chameleon.JPG Trioceros tempeli
(Tornier, 1899)		Tanzania mountain chameleon, Tempel's chameleon, [20] Udzungwa double-bearded chameleonTanzania
wanakamereon.jpg Trioceros werneri
(Tornier, 1899)		 Werner's chameleon, [21] Wemer's chameleon, Wemer's three-horned chameleonTanzania
Chamaeleo wiedersheimi04.jpg Trioceros wiedersheimi
(Nieden, 1910)		Mount Lefo chameleon, Wiedersheim's chameleon [22] Cameroon and Nigeria
Trioceros wolfgangboehmei (10.3897-zse.97.57297) Figure 7.jpg 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.

Footnotes

  1. ↑ Trioceros oweni at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 17 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 Tilbury, C.R., & Tolley, K.A. (2009). "A re-appraisal of the systematics of the African genus Chamaeleo (Reptilia: Chamaeleonidae)". Zootaxa2079: 57–68.
  3. ↑ Hughes, D.F.; Blackburn, D.G. (2020). "Evolutionary origins of viviparity in Chamaeleonidae". Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research. 58 (1): 284–302. doi: 10.1111/jzs.12328 .
  4. ↑ Trioceros at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database
  5. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 51.
  6. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 82.
  7. ↑ Beolens et al., p.95.
  8. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 103.
  9. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 90.
  10. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 124.
  11. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 132.
  12. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 135.
  13. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 175.
  14. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 198.
  15. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 203.
  16. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 205,
  17. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 237.
  18. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 238.
  19. ↑ Beolens et al., 253.
  20. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 263.
  21. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 282.
  22. ↑ Beolens et al., p. 285.

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References


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