The Biology of Chameleons by Tolley Krystal A.; Herrel Anthony;

Author:Tolley, Krystal A.; Herrel, Anthony;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of California Press

African Genera

The Bradypodion, with 17 species, are limited to South Africa, with one species (B. setaroi) ranging into Mozambique. They occur around the southern margin of the continent, and are excluded from the arid interior. Most species have narrow distributions in coastal or montane forests, some of which are found in a single forest patch (e.g., B. ngomeense and B. damaranum) or in a few small forest fragments (e.g., B. nemorale, B. caeruleogula, and B. caffer). Several species are widespread (e.g., B. occidentale, B. ventrale, and B. gutturale), inhabiting low bushes in treeless environments, particularly in the succulent Karoo and Nama-Karoo biomes. A number of species have radiated into the fynbos and grassland biomes, presumably within the past 5 Myr as these vegetation types became dominant along the southern margin of Africa (e.g., B. atromontanum, B. taeniabronchum, and B. melanocephalum). These species utilize open habitats with fine perch structure, and have apparently adapted morphologically to habitat structure dissimilar from forest (Measey et al., 2009; Herrel et al., 2011; da Silva and Tolley, 2013). Forest-restricted species are typically much older lineages (mid-Miocene) than fynbos/grassland lineages, and they lack extant sister species, suggesting that extinction filtering through the loss of forest habitat since the Miocene has occurred (Tolley et al., 2008).

Chamaeleo is the most widespread genus of chameleons, ranging from South Africa to Europe and Asia, spanning a distance of nearly 8000 km. It is the only genus found on more than one landmass—that is, across Africa, coastal regions of Europe, Socotra Island, and parts of the near East and India. Aside from a few atypical records (Tilbury, 2010), in Africa, Chamaeleo is absent only from the driest areas, particularly the Sahara and the Namib regions and the true rainforests. Despite its wide distribution, the genus is not particularly specious, with only 14 species. Members of the genus are archetypical, almost always resembling the concept of what a chameleon should look like (e.g., C. dilepis and C. chamaeleon). Most species are considered generalists because they are often found in diverse habitats, on a wide range of vegetation, and often crossing the ground at a surprisingly quick pace. Perhaps the most radical member of the genus is C. namaquensis, a fully terrestrial chameleon found primarily in the xeric regions of Namibia and South Africa, where it inhabits gravel plains and low dunes (Burrage, 1973; Herrel et al., 2013).

Kinyongia, with 18 species, are basically restricted to Afromontane forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains, the Albertine Rift, and the Kenyan Highlands. They are arboreal, forest specialists, usually found deep in the canopy, although a few species can tolerate altered habitats (e.g., K. boehmei) and at least one species has been observed in high-altitude shrubby habitats (Greenbaum et al., 2012). Because of their strong habitat preferences, their evolutionary history and present-day fragmented distribution is the result of forest dynamics since the Oligocene (Tolley et al., 2011). There are three main clades of Kinyongia, and these are allopatric in distribution. The Eastern Arc Mountains are divided, with one clade in the south (e.

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