Natal Midlands Dwarf Chameleon
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| Natal Midlands Dwarf Chameleon | ||||||||||||||||||
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 Natal Dwarf Chameleon in its natural habitat.
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| Bradypodion thamnobates Raw, 1976[verification needed] |
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Chamaeleo thamnobates |
The Natal Midlands Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion thamnobates), also known under the longer common name of KwaZulu-Natal Midlands Dwarf Chameleon, is a chameleon native to woodland habitat in the Midlands area of the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Its length is 19 cm (7.6 in). Males have a short orange stripe around the middle of their body and red spotted eyelids, whereas females are brown with smaller helmet-like protrustions. They have bulbous scales of varying colors scattered around the body. Their head crests are yellow, with white skin on their throat.
This is a very close relative of the Black-headed Dwarf Chameleon, which looks very different due to adptation to low forest and fynbos on the slopes and cliffs seawards from B. thamnobates' range. Also, the undescribed dwarf chameleon population from Gilboa Forest near the border between KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces seems closely related to them. It appears as if they radiated quite recently from a common ancestor, which probably was much like the Midlands form in appearance (as this is the most plesiomorphic of them). Indeed, there is indication of ongoing gene flow or incomplete lineage sorting between these populations. Thus it is not certain whether they constitute one, three, or even more species, and more research is required.(Tolley et al. 2004)
The range of the Midlands and Gilboa Forest populations and that of the Drakensberg Dwarf Chameleon require delimitation as they appear to touch in eastern Lesotho and adjacent South Africa. The Drakensberg species is not closely related to the KwaZulu-Natal group however, and there seems to be no significant gene flow between them.(Tolley et al. 2004)
The Natal Midlands Dwarf Chameleon is an endangered species.[verification needed]
[edit] References
- Tolley, Krystal A.; Tilbury, Colin R.; Branch, William R. & Matthee, Conrad A. (2004): Phylogenetics of the southern African dwarf chameleons, Bradypodion (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30: 354–365. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00211-2 PDF fulltext
- World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). Bradypodion thamnobates. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006.
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