Reload Home Page

Disclaimer

Contact Us

Our Forum Page

Last updated : 11/03/2007

This page is indexed on our home page under Aspect: 8. Links - Species Specific and the Section: Lizards: Chameleons

Introduction

This page contains a selection of the best links found on the reptile species: Dwarf Chameleon (sp. Bradypodion). The navigation table on the top left will take you directly to the defined topics, such as  Natural Habitat, Captive care, Breeders, Pictures, More information, Other information and Taxonomy.

Please feel free to advise any incorrect allocations or descriptions and to request any additional links to your favorite website on this subject.

A brief snippet about Dwarf Chameleon (sp. Bradypodion)

A brief introduction to the species will be inserted here ..... coming soon! In the interim we have a number of links on the species, listed on this page.

There are 15 recognised species of dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion) in South Africa, and four of these are endemic to the Cape Fold Mountains. In addition, there appear to be several other undescribed species present within the Cape Fold Mountains. To date, the geographic distribution of many of these species remains largely unknown, and their taxonomy is poorly understood.

CHAMELEON With its distinctive shape, ponderous movements and tiny eyes at the ends of conical turrets, the chameleon is an unmistakable reptile. Its ability to change colour is very well known, but this is not done to match its background as commonly believed - although that may happen coincidentally - but as a means of communication and to regulate body temperature.

Habitat associations and conservation status of an endemic forest dwarf chameleon (Bradypodion sp.) from South Africa
Walter J. Reisinger, Devi M. Stuart-Fox and Barend F.N. Erasmus
A PDF document (121 KB)
Abstract. We quantified habitat associations and evaluated the conservation status of a recently identified, undescribed species of dwarf chameleon, Bradypodion sp. nov. Dhlinza, endemic to scarp forest remnants in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. At the microhabitat scale the Dhlinza dwarf chameleon was found more often in forest gaps and near paths than highly disturbed edges or forest interior.

The AdCham.com website serves as an international center for the sharing of information regarding old world chameleons. The contributors and editors represent the fields of herpetoculture, veterinary medicine, import-export, taxonomy, and animal behavior and come from the worlds of academia, clinical veterinary medicine, research and business.

Dewsburycrafts.co.za A reletively small chameleon reaching around 50-70mm. It is a relatively large Dwarf Chameleon, and it is the only Dwarf Chameleon in this area. The species is very distinctive from the Flap-Neck Chameleon (Chamaeleo dilepis) by the tubercles present on the sides often in two rows.

That's also the experience you get when listening to chameleon researcher Dr Krystal Tolley in her office at the University of Stellenbosch Botany and Zoology Department chatting away about her research topic of the past three years. Chameleons, to say the least, are ugly, yet adorable.

Habitat and Distribution: B. damaranum inhabits bushes and trees of the Tsitsikamma Forest region on the slopes and foot of the Outeniqua Mountains in the moderate but humid coastal regions of Western and Eastern Cape Provinces, South Africa (from George to Witelsbos)

Dwarf chameleons are a group of small chameleons from the genus Bradypodion. They are endemic to Southern Africa. These chameleons are quite rare due to the fact that their populations are very localized (in most cases a species' distribution is just a single town). Dwarf chams are viviparous which means they give birth to live young. Cape dwarfs are one of the largest of the genus averaging with a snout to vent length (svl) of around 2.5 to 3 inches.

Conflict between the sexes has traditionally been studied in terms of costs of mating to females and female resistance. However, courting can also be costly to males, especially when females are larger and aggressively resist copulation attempts. We examined male display intensity towards females in the Cape dwarf chameleon, Bradypodion pumilum, in which females are larger than males and very aggressive.

Foraging mode is an important aspect of life history, often associated with traits such as locomotor mode, energy budget, risk of predation and reproductive effort. Because of these life-history associations, classification of foraging mode can be conceptually useful. Lizards figured prominently in the historical development of foraging mode concepts, yet our current understanding is dominated by only two lizard families which are good examples of the two extreme modes, sit-and-wait vs. active foraging.

The Cape dwarf chameleon (Bradypodion pumilum) once common in the wine-growing region of Stellenbosch, South Africa, has plummeted in numbers due to the use of modern pesticides and mechanical harvesting techniques.

The list of different Bradypodion sub species and some further reading on each.

Reload home page (Site Drilldown)

Go Top

Last updated : 13-01-2008