Furcifer

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Furcifer
FurciferPardalisMale.JPG
Furcifer pardalis, panther chameleon
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Chamaeleonidae
Subfamily: Chamaeleoninae
Genus: Furcifer
Fitzinger, 1843
Type species
Chamaeleo bifidus
Brongniart, 1800
Diversity
24 species

Furcifer is a genus of chameleons whose member species are mostly endemic to Madagascar, but F. cephalolepis and F. polleni are endemic to the Comoros. Additionally, F. pardalis has been introduced to Réunion and Mauritius, while F. oustaleti has been introduced to near Nairobi in Kenya.

Taxonomy[]

The generic name (Furcifer) is derived from the Latin root furci- meaning "forked" and refers to the shape of the animal's feet.[1]

The genus contains 24 species.[2]

Species[]

The following species are recognized as being valid.[3]

Image Scientific name Common Name Distribution
Angel's chameleon (Furcifer angeli).jpg Furcifer angeli (Brygoo & Domergue, 1968) Angel's chameleon northwest Madagascar
Furcifer antimena.JPG Furcifer antimena (Grandidier, 1872) Antimena chameleon southwest Madagascar
Furcifer balteatus.jpg Furcifer balteatus (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1851) two-banded chameleon Madagascar
Furcifer belalandaensis (Brygoo & Domergue, 1970) Belalanda chameleon Madagascar.
Furcifer bifidus (Brongniart, 1900) two-horned chameleon Madagascar
Furcifer Campani.jpg Furcifer campani (Grandidier, 1872) jewelled chameleon central highlands of Madagascar
Chameleon in Berenty Madagascar 0001.JPG Furcifer cephalolepis (Günther, 1880) Comoro Islands chameleon Grande Comore.
FurciferLabordi.jpg Furcifer labordi (Grandidier, 1872) Labord's chameleon Madagascar.
Carpet Chameleon (Furcifer lateralis) female (7636716522).jpg Furcifer lateralis (Gray, 1831) carpet chameleon Madagascar.
Furcifer major (Brygoo, 1971) Southern Carpet Chameleon Tanandava, Madagascar
Lesser Chameleon (Furcifer minor) female (captive specimen) (10328597434).jpg Furcifer minor (Günther, 1879) lesser chameleon Central Madagascar.
Furcifer monoceras (Boettger, 1913) Madagascar.
Nicosia's Chameleon (Furcifer nicosiae), Kirindy Forest, Madagascar.jpg Furcifer nicosiai , & , 1999 western Madagascar.
Oustalet's chameleon (Furcifer oustaleti) male Anja Community Reserve.jpg Furcifer oustaleti (Mocquard, 1894) Malagasy giant chameleon Madagascar
Panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) male Nosy Be.jpg Furcifer pardalis (Cuvier, 1829) panther chameleon eastern and northern parts of Madagascar
Petter's chameleon (Furcifer petteri) male Montagne d’Ambre.jpg Furcifer petteri (Brygoo & Domergue, 1966) Petter's chameleon northern Madagascar
Cameleondemayotte.JPG Furcifer polleni (W. Peters, 1874) Mayotte chameleon Mayotte.
Rhinoceros Chameleon. Furcifer rhinoceratus - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg Furcifer rhinoceratus (Gray, 1845) rhinoceros chameleon dry forests in Madagascar.
Furcifer timoni Glaw, Köhler & Vences, 2009 [2] Timon's chameleon Madagascar.
Furcifer tuzetae (Brygoo, & Domergue, 1972) Ambiky chameleon Madagascar.
Warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) male Arboretum d'Antsokay.jpg Furcifer verrucosus (Cuvier, 1829) spiny chameleon Madagascar.
Furcifer viridis et al., 2012 green chameleon northwest Madagascar, from the central highlands and Maevatanana to Ambanja
Furcifer voeltzkowi (Boettger, 1893) Voeltzkow's chameleon Madagascar.
Canopy Chameleon (Furcifer willsii) (9648245322).jpg Furcifer willsii (Günther, 1890) canopy chameleon eastern Madagascar

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Furcifer.

References[]

  1. ^ Le Berre, François; Bartlett, Richard D. (2009). The Chameleon Handbook. Barron's Educational Series. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7641-4142-3.
  2. ^ a b Glaw F et al. (2009). A distinctive new species of chameleon of the genus Furcifer (Squamata: Chameleonidae) from the Montagne d'Ambre rainforest of northern Madagascar. Zootaxa 2269: 32-42.
  3. ^ "Furcifer ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.

Further reading[]

  • Fitzinger L. 1843. Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (Furcifer, new genus, p. 42). (in Latin).
  • Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel. (1994). A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, 2nd edition. Köln: M. Vences & F. Glaw Verlags GbR. ISBN 3-929449-01-3.
  • Spawls S; Drewes R; Ashe J. (2002). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Köln: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-656470-1.
  • Anderson CV. (2006). Captive Chameleon Populations. Accessed 23-01-2009
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