Rieppeleon kerstenii

Rieppeleon kerstenii
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Chamaeleonidae
Genus:	Rieppeleon
Species:	R. kerstenii
Binomial name
Rieppeleon kerstenii (W. Peters, 1868)
Synonyms[2]
Chamaeleo kerstenii W. Peters, 1868 Rhampholeon kerstenii — Fischer, 1884 Brookesia kerstenii — Loveridge, 1936 Rieppeleon kerstenii — Matthee et al., 2004

Rieppeleon kerstenii is species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to East Africa. There are two subspecies.

Geographic range

R. kerstenii is found in eastern Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and northeastern Tanzania.[1][2]

Habitat

R. kerstenii is found at altitudes from sea level to 1,500 m (4,900 ft), in a variety of habitats: shrubland, savanna, and forest.[1]

Common names

Common names for R. kerstenii include Kenya leaf chameleon,[2] Kenya pygmy chameleon,[2] Kenya stumptail chameleon,[2] Kersten's pygmy chameleon,[3] and pygmy grass chameleon.[1]

Etymologies

The specific name, kerstenii, is in honour of Otto Kersten (1839–1900), who was a German chemist and traveler.[2][3]

The subspecific name, robecchii, is in honour of Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti (1855–1926), who was an Italian geologist and explorer.[3]

Behaviour

R. kerstenii is crepuscular.[1]

Diet

R. kerstenii preys upon insects and other arthropods.[1]

Reproduction

R. kerstenii is oviparous.[1][2] Clutch size is as large as ten eggs.[1]

Subspecies

The following two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]

• Rieppeleon kerstenii kerstenii (W. Peters, 1868)
• Rieppeleon kerstenii robecchii (Boulenger, 1891)

References

1. Tolley, K. (2014). "Rieppeleon kerstenii ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2014: e.T172535A1344556. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T172535A1344556.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
2. Rieppeleon kerstenii at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 30 October 2018.
3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp.
   ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Rieppeleon kerstenii, p. 140; Rhampholeon robecchii, p. 223).

Further reading

• Boulenger GA (1891). "On some Reptiles collected by Sig. L. Robecchi Bricchetti in Somaliland". Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie Seconda 12: 5–15 + Plate I. (Rhampholeon robecchii, new species, p. 13 + Plate I, figures 3, 3a).
• Peters W (1868). "Über eine neue Nagergattung, Chiropodomys pennicullatus, so wie über einige neue oder weniger bekannte Amphibien und Fische ". Monatsberichte der Königlich-Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin 1868: 448–461. (Chamaeleo kerstenii, new species, p. 449). (in German).
• Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). A Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London, Oxford, New York, New Delhi, Sydney: Bloomsbury Wildlife. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1-399-40481-5. (Rieppeleon kerstenii, pp. 247–248).
• Tilbury C (2010). Chameleons of Africa: An Atlas, Including the Chameleons of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimaira. 831 pp. ISBN 978-3899731156.