Calumma is a genus of chameleons, highly adapted and specialised lizards, in the familyChamaeleonidae. The genus is endemic to the island of Madagascar. One species, formerly known as Calumma tigris (the Seychelles tiger chameleon), was transferred to the genus Archaius in 2010, upon the discovery of its closer relation to Rieppeleon—one of several genera referred to collectively as "leaf" or "pygmy" chameleons—rather than to Calumma.[1] The earliest known fossil of the genus is of Calumma benovskyi, from early MioceneKenya, showing that the genus likely originated on mainland East Africa.[2] The genus includes one of the heaviest and longest chameleon species, the Parson's chameleon (Calumma parsonii).[3]
Species groups
Four species groups are recognised within the genus Calumma (originally proposed by Glaw & Vences in 1994[4]), some of which may be only phenetic, while others are phylogenetically supported:[5][6]
Contents: Calumma furcifer, C. gastrotaenia, C. marojezense, C. guillaumeti, C. andringitraense, C. glawi, C. vencesi
Species characterised by typically green body colouration, sleek body form, and generally no occipital lobes (flaps of skin posterior to the head; present only in C. glawi) and no rostral appendage (present only in males of C. furcifer).[4]
Contents: Calumma cucullatum, C. crypticum, C. amber, C. tsaratananense, C. hafahafa, C. hilleniusi, C. peltierorum, C. malthe, C. brevicorne, C. jejy, C. tsycorne
Species characterised by distinct occipital lobes and generally a single bony rostral appendage that is larger in males than females.[4]
Contents: Calumma nasutum, C. fallax, C. gallus, C. guibei, C. boettgeri, C. linotum, C. gehringi, C. uetzi, C. lefona, C. juliae, C. vatosoa, C. vohibola, C. peyrierasi, C. roaloko
Species characterised by a soft dermal rostral appendage (generally present in males and absent in females).[4] The following members possess occipital lobes: C. guibei, C. boettgeri, C. linotum, C. gehringi, C. uetzi, C. lefona, C. roaloko, and C. juliae.[7][8] These taxa are collectively referred to as the C. guibei species complex.[5][7] Occipital lobes are absent from all other species.[4] The assignment of C. peyrierasi to this group remains a subject of uncertainty.[9]
^Vitt, Laurie. "Chameleon". www.Britannica.com. Retrieved 26 August 2023. The longest chameleon in the world is Parson's chameleon (Calumma parsonii), which may grow up to 69.5 cm (about 27 inches) long.
^ abcdefGlaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel (1994). A Fieldguide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Second Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlags GbR / Serpents Tale. 480 pp. ISBN978-3929449-01-3.
^ abPrötzel, David; Vences, Miguel; Hawlitschek, Oliver; Scherz, Mark D.; Ratsoavina, Fanomezana M.; Glaw, Frank (2018). "Endangered beauties: micro-CT cranial osteology, molecular genetics and external morphology reveal three new species of chameleons in the Calumma boettgeri complex (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae)". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 184 (2): 471–498. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx112.
^Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN978-1-4214-0135-5. (Calumma peyrierasi, p. 205).
Gray JE (1865). "Revision of the Genera and Species of Chamæleonidæ, with the Descriptions of some New Species". Proc. Zool. Soc. London1864: 465–479. (Calumma, new genus, p. 476).
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