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.
Species in the genus Chamaeleo are slow moving, with independently movable eyes, the ability to change skin colouration, a long tongue, usually a prehensile tail, and special leg adaptations for grasping vegetation. Males are generally larger and more colorful than females. Almost all species have a maximum snout-vent length (SVL) between 15cmand40cmcm (06inchesand20inchescm).
The vast majority of Chamaeleo species are arboreal and typically found in trees or bushes, but a few species (notably the Namaqua Chameleon) are partially or largely terrestrial.
The genus Chamaeleo includes only oviparous species.
With few exceptions, the chameleons most commonly seen in captivity are all members of the genus Chamaeleo; the most commonly found species in the pet trade (as well as through captive breeders) include the common, Senegal, and veiled chameleons, but all chameleons tend to require special care, and are generally suited to the intermediate or advanced reptile keeper.
Chamaeleo is the type genus of the family Chamaeleonidae.
All other genera of "traditional chameleons" in the subfamily Chamaeleoninae (Archaius, Bradypodion, Calumma, Furcifer, Kinyongia, Nadzikambia, and Trioceros) have at some point been included in the genus Chamaeleo, but are now regarded as separate genera by virtually all authorities.
14 species are recognized as being valid, and subspecies are recognized for some species.[1]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chamaeleo africanus Laurenti, 1768 | African chameleon | Sahel, from Mali and Mauritania to Sudan, north to Egypt | |
| Chamaeleo anchietae Bocage, 1872 | Angola double-scaled chameleon | Angola, DR Congo, Tanzania | |
| Chamaeleo arabicus Matschie, 1893 | Arabian chameleon | southern Arabian Peninsula | |
| Chamaeleo calcaricarens Böhme, 1985 | Awash spurless chameleon | Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, N Somalia | |
| Chamaeleo calyptratus A.M.C. Duméril & A.H.A. Duméril, 1851 | veiled chameleon | Yemen and Saudi Arabia | |
| Chamaeleo chamaeleon (Linnaeus, 1758) | common chameleon | S Greece (Aegean Islands, Crete, Chios, Samos), Malta, S Portugal, S Spain, S/E Turkey, Cyprus, Italy (Apulia, Calabria),N Africa: Western Sahara, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Sinai, Israel, Jordan, SW Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq | |
| Chamaeleo dilepis Leach, 1819 | flap-necked chameleon | Congo, Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Kenya, Malawi (Shire Highlands), Namibia, Nigeria, Republic of South Africa, Eswatini, Botswana,Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire; except in the north), Zambia, Burundi, Uganda, E Zaire, Tanzania (Pemba Island), Mozambique, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe | |
| Chamaeleo gracilis Hallowell, 1844 | graceful chameleon | Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Senegal, Gambia, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, Guinea (Conakry),Gambia, Benin, E Burkina Faso | |
| Chamaeleo laevigatus Gray, 1863 | smooth chameleon | Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, North and South Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Central African Republic, Zambia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Cameroon | |
| Chamaeleo monachus Gray, 1865 | Socotran chameleon | Yemen (Socotra Island) | |
| Chamaeleo namaquensis A. Smith, 1831 | Namaqua chameleon | South Angola, Namibia, Republic of South Africa | |
| Chamaeleo necasi Ullenbruch, P. Krause & Böhme, 2007 | Nečas' flap-necked chameleon | Togo, Benin | |
| Chamaeleo senegalensis Daudin, 1802 | Senegal chameleon | Tropical West Africa from Senegal to Cameroon: Guinea-Bissau, Guinea (Conakry), Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Mali, Gambia, Central African Republic, Mauritania | |
| Chamaeleo zeylanicus Laurenti, 1768 | Indian chameleon | Sri Lanka, India (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Southern plains of the Ganges, Tamil Nadu, Telangana), Pakistan | |
A binomial authority or trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species or subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Chamaeleo.
| Image | Scientific name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|
| †Chamaeleo caroliquarti Moody & Rocek, 1980 | Czech Republic (Miocene) | |
| †Chamaeleo intermedius Hillenius, 1978[2] | Kenya (Miocene) | |