Furcifer

Furcifer
Furcifer pardalis, panther chameleon
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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, Mauritius and Florida, while F. oustaleti has been introduced to Kenya and Florida.

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
Furcifer angeli (Brygoo & Domergue, 1968) Angel's chameleon northwest Madagascar
Furcifer antimena (Grandidier, 1872) Antimena chameleon southwest Madagascar
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 (Grandidier, 1872) jewelled chameleon central highlands of Madagascar
Furcifer cephalolepis (Günther, 1880) Comoro Islands chameleon Grande Comore.
Furcifer labordi (Grandidier, 1872) Labord's chameleon Madagascar.
Furcifer lateralis (Gray, 1831) carpet chameleon Madagascar.
Furcifer major (Brygoo, 1971) Southern Carpet Chameleon Tanandava, Madagascar
Furcifer minor (Günther, 1879) lesser chameleon Central Madagascar.
Furcifer monoceras (Boettger, 1913) Madagascar.
Furcifer nicosiai Jesu, Mattioli & Schimmenti, 1999 western Madagascar.
Furcifer oustaleti (Mocquard, 1894) Malagasy giant chameleon Madagascar
Furcifer pardalis (Cuvier, 1829) panther chameleon eastern and northern parts of Madagascar
Furcifer petteri (Brygoo & Domergue, 1966) Petter's chameleon northern Madagascar
Furcifer polleni (W. Peters, 1874) Mayotte chameleon Mayotte.
Furcifer rhinoceratus (Gray, 1845) rhinoceros chameleon dry forests in Madagascar.
Furcifer timoni Glaw, Köhler & Vences, 2009[2] Timon's chameleon Madagascar.
Furcifer tuzetae (Brygoo, Bourgat & Domergue, 1972) Ambiky chameleon Madagascar.
Furcifer verrucosus (Cuvier, 1829) warty chameleon Madagascar.
Furcifer viridis Florio et al., 2012 green chameleon northwest Madagascar, from the central highlands and Maevatanana to Ambanja
Furcifer voeltzkowi (Boettger, 1893) Voeltzkow's chameleon Madagascar.
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. [in German] (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