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Although nearly half of all chameleon species today live in Madagascar, this offers no basis for speculation that chameleons might originate from there. [32] In fact, it has recently been shown that chameleons most likely originated in mainland Africa. [15] It appears there were two distinct oceanic migrations from the mainland to Madagascar.
The veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) is a species of chameleon (family Chamaeleonidae) native to the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Other common names include cone-head chameleon, Yemen chameleon, and Yemeni chameleon. [1] They are born pastel green and without their distinctive casques on their head.
The average length of the common chameleon is 20–40 cm (8–16 inches), with females often being substantially larger than males. The colour of the common chameleon is variable, between yellow/brown through green to a dark brown. Whatever the background colour is, the common chameleon will have two light coloured lines along its side.
Glaw's chameleon (Calumma glawi)Calumma is a genus of chameleons, highly adapted and specialised lizards, in the family Chamaeleonidae.The genus is endemic to the island of Madagascar.
Calumma benovskyi is an extinct species of chameleon of the Calumma genus. While species of this genus are only found on Madagascar today, C. benovskyi was discovered in the Miocene sediments of Kenya. This indicates that the genus and even chameleons as a whole did not originate on Madagascar, as often held previously, but on continental Africa.
Namaqua chameleons are preyed upon by jackals, hawks, and eagles, and possibly monitor lizards. [5] [3] Similar to other chameleon species in areas near human habitation, it falls victim to introduced predators such as domestic cats, dogs and foxes. This species runs fast for a chameleon however and will do so to evade potential danger.
The African chameleon is a slow-moving, laterally flattened species growing to a maximum length of 46 cm (18 in). It has bulbous eyes which can move independently of each other and a prehensile tail. It is very similar in appearance to the common chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon) but has no flaps at the back of its head and is rather larger. [7]
The panther chameleon is very territorial; aside from mating, it spends the majority of its life in isolation. When two males come into contact, they will change color and inflate their bodies, attempting to assert their dominance. Often these battles end at this stage, with the loser retreating, turning drab and dark colors.