Spectral pygmy chameleon: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Species of lizard}}

{{More footnotes|date=August 2015}}

{{Speciesbox

| status = LC

| status_system = IUCN3.1

| status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{Cite journal | author = Mariaux, J. | author2 = LeBreton, M. | name-list-style = amp | title = ''Rhampholeon spectrum'' | journal = [[The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species]] | volume = 2010 | page = e.T176322A7218445 | publisher = [[IUCN]] | date = 2010 | url = http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/176322/0 | doi = 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2010-4.RLTS.T176322A7218445.en | access-date = 15 January 2018| doi-access = free }}</ref>

| name = Spectral pygmy chameleon

| image = Cameroon Stumptail Chameleon (Rhampholeon spectrum) (7668008064).jpg

| image_caption = ''Rhampholeon spectrum''

| genus = Rhampholeon

| species = spectrum

| authority = [[Reinhold Wilhelm Buchholz|Buchholz]], 1874

| range_map = Rhampholeon spectrum distribution.png

| synonyms = ''Chamaeleo spectrum'' <small>Buchholz, 1874</small><br />

''Brookesia spectrum'' <small>Loveridge, 1951</small>

<br />

''Rhampholeon affinis'' <small>[[Franz Steindachner|Steindachner]], 1911</small>

}}

The '''spectral pygmy chameleon''' ('''''Rhampholeon spectrum'''''), also known as ''' western pygmy chameleon''' or '''Cameroon stumptail chameleon''',<ref name=IUCN/> is one of the so-called "dwarf" or "leaf" chameleons, from mainland [[Africa]].

==Distribution==

The exact distribution differs between sources, but includes at least Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon,<ref name=IUCN/><ref name=RDB/> and may include the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo,<ref name=RDB>{{NRDB species|genus=Rhampholeon |species=spectrum |accessdate=28 August 2015}}</ref> and Nigeria.<ref name=IUCN/>

==Description==

They are small, not exceeding {{convert|4|in|cm|abbr=on|disp=flip}}, with very short, albeit prehensile, tails. They tend to frequent the ground and low shrubbery in forested areas.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Matthee | first1 = C. A. | last2 = Tilbury | first2 = C. R. | last3 = Townsend | first3 = T. | doi = 10.1098/rspb.2004.2806 | title = A phylogenetic review of the African leaf chameleons: genus ''Rhampholeon'' (Chamaeleonidae): the role of vicariance and climate change in speciation | journal = Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences | volume = 271 | issue = 1551 | pages = 1967–75 | year = 2004 | pmid = 15347522| pmc = 1691807}}</ref>

This species is capable of color change, but generally in somber shades of tan to gray. It also has a ventral stripe from the eye to above the base of the tail which, however, is not always displayed in lieu of plain ground colors. It is capable of quite striking coloration in the form of streaks and blotches.

In spite of their small size, plain color, and often terrestrial habits, they are otherwise very much like the larger chameleons in possessing independently rotating eye sockets, opposable digits on the front and back feet, and projectile tongues. Males may be differentiated from females by their wider tail bases.

==Behavior==

They are extremely sedentary, and not territorial (unlike other chameleons). They eat small [[invertebrate]]s. Their reproductive habits are poorly known. These animals seem to prefer cooler temperatures.

==References==

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q732959}}

[[Category:Rhampholeon]]

[[Category:Lizards of Africa]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Cameroon]]

[[Category:Vertebrates of the Central African Republic]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea]]

[[Category:Reptiles of Gabon]]

[[Category:Reptiles of West Africa]]

[[Category:Reptiles of the Republic of the Congo]]

[[Category:Reptiles described in 1874]]

[[Category:Taxa named by Reinhold Wilhelm Buchholz]]

{{chameleon-stub}}