Trioceros johnstoni explained

Trioceros johnstoni, known commonly as Johnston's chameleon, Johnston's three-horned chameleon, and the Ruwenzori three-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae.^[1] The species is endemic to highlands in the Albertine Rift in central Africa. It reaches up to in total length (including tail). Only the adult male has three horns. The female is hornless.^[2]

Taxonomy and etymology

The three long annulated horns in the male T. johnstoni makes it superficially similar to T. jacksonii and T. werneri, and to an extent also to the short-horned T. fuelleborni and the smooth-horned T. oweni,^[2] but they are not close relatives.^[3] Its nearest relative is the hornless T. ituriensis.^[3]

The specific name johnstoni was given in honour of the British explorer Harry Johnston.^{[4] [5]}

Distribution and habitat

T. johnstoni is found in forests at altitudes between in the Albertine Rift of eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Burundi, western Rwanda, and southwestern Uganda, but also tolerates semi-urbanized environments as long as some trees and bushes remain.

Behaviour

Males of T. johnstoni are fiercely territorial and readily will fight other males, using their horns and biting.^[2]

Reproduction

T. johnstoni is oviparous, with the female laying 4–23 eggs per clutch.^[3]

Further reading

• Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Wildlife. 624 pp. . (Trioceros johnstoni, pp. 293–294).
• Tilbury CR, Tolley KA (2009). "A re-appraisal of the systematics of the African genus Chamaeleo (Reptilia: Chamaeleonidae)". Zootaxa 2079: 57–68. (Trioceros johnstoni, new combination).

Notes and References

1. Book: Tilbury, C.R. . species:Colin R. Tilbury . 2010 . Chameleons of Africa: An Atlas, Including the Chameleons of Europe, the Middle East and Asia . Frankfurt am Main, Germany . Edition Chimaira . 978-3899731156.
2. Book: Spawls . S. . species:Stephen Spawls . Howell . K. . species:Kim Monroe Howell . Drewes . R. . species:Robert Clifton Drewes . Ashe . J. . species:James Ashe . 2002 . A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. 228–229 . Cambridge, Massachusetts . Academic Press . 0-12-656470-1.
3. Hughes . Daniel F. . species:Daniel F. Hughes . Blackburn . Daniel G. . 2020 . Evolutionary origins of viviparity in Chamaeleonidae . Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research . 58 . 1 . 284–302 . 10.1111/jzs.12328 . free.
4. Boulenger, G.A. . George Albert Boulenger . 1901 . Description of two new Chameleons from Mount Ruwenzori, British East Africa . Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London . 2 . 135–136, Plates XII–XIII. 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1901.tb08168.x . (Chamæleon johnstoni, new species, p. 136 + Plate XIII).
5. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]