Fischer's chameleon

Fischer's chameleon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Chamaeleonidae
Subfamily: Chamaeleoninae
Genus: Kinyongia
Species: K. fischeri
Binomial name
Kinyongia fischeri
(Reichenow, 1887)
Synonyms
  • Chamaeleon fischeri Reichenow, 1887
  • Bradypodion fischeri
    — Necas, 1999
  • Kinyongia fischeri
    — Tilbury et al., 2006[1]

Fischer's chameleon (Kinyongia fischeri) is a species of chameleon endemic to Tanzania.

Etymology

The specific name, fischeri, is in honor of German herpetologist Johann Gustav Fischer.[2]

Geographic range

K. fischeri is restricted to the Nguru and Nguu Mountains of Tanzania.[1][3] Chameleons found in other parts of the Eastern Arc Mountains as well as Kenya are now classified as separate species.[3][4]

Taxonomy

A number of other species (K. matschiei, K. multituberculata, K. tavetana, K. uluguruensis, and K. vosseleri) have been mistakenly called by this species' name or classified as subspecies. In 2008, it was shown that they actually are their own distinct, different species.[3][4] The true Fischer's chameleon is rare with a more restricted distribution than previously believed.[3][4]

References

  1. 1 2 "Kinyongia fischeri ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
  2. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M. 2011. The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Kinyongia fischeri, p. 90).
  3. 1 2 3 4 Mariaux J, Lutzmann N, Stipala J. 2008. The two horned chameleons of East Africa. Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 152: 367-391.
  4. 1 2 3 Lutzmann N. Revisions of the Genus Bradypodion. chameleonnews.com

Further reading


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