Furcifer
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Panther chameleon ( Furcifer pardalis ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Furcifer | ||||||||||||
| Fitzinger , 1843 |
Furcifer is one of the four chameleon genera in Madagascar . Thespecies of this genus, which arepredominantly endemic to Madagascar,are found primarily in arid areas, with a fewspecializingin tropical rainforests .
Appearance
The genus Furcifer includes medium-sized to large chameleons. These animals have a distinctive coloration and the ability to change color significantly. Sexual dimorphism occurs in this genus : males have clearly pronounced structures on the head that are absent or at least less pronounced in females. A characteristic for this genus is a clearly pronounced, round helmet structure. Within a species, the males become larger than the females, this difference is even more pronounced here than with Calumma . In contrast to Calumma, there are no occipital lobes in Furcifer , but a pronounced ridge can appear on the ventral side. Males have very large hemipenic sacs .
Occurrence / habitat
Two species of this genus, F. cephalolepis and F. polleni, occur in the Comoros , all others are endemic to Madagascar. F. pardalis was probably introduced to La Réunion . Furcifer species are often found in arid areas, some species are found in rainforests.
reproduction
All furcifers that have been observed to reproduce lay eggs. In large species, such as F. oustaleti , a clutch can contain more than 60 eggs, but the number can be highly variable. The clutch size in F. lateralis varies between 4 and 23 eggs, in F. pardalis between 12 and 46 eggs. An egg can measure around 15 x 11 millimeters ( F. oustaleti ). The incubation period can be quite long at 150 to 380 days ( F. lateralis and F. pardalis ), but sexual maturity can be reached relatively quickly after just 2 months ( F. labordi ).
Life cycle
The life cycle of the species Furcifer labordi is the shortest known of the terrestrial vertebrates, as it only lasts a maximum of 5 months after the approximately 9-month ice stage (during the intensive dry season). They reach sexual maturity after 2 months and lay eggs after another 2 months.
Systematics
Groups within this genus and their main characteristics:
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Furcifer bifidus group: small and large species; Males have strongly developed, paired nasal appendages (not in females); This group contains the only species restricted to rainforest
- Furcifer balteatus (Duméril & Bibron, 1851)
- Furcifer bifidus (Brongniart, 1800)
- Furcifer minor (Günther, 1879)
- Furcifer petteri (Brygoo & Domergue, 1966)
- Furcifer timoni Glaw, Köhler & Vences, 2009
- Furcifer willsii (Günther, 1890)
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Furcifer pardalis group: lowland species with no or relatively short nasal appendages but with a crest on the neck or abdomen
- Furcifer angeli (Brygoo & Domergue, 1968)
- Furcifer belalandaensis (Brygoo & Domergue, 1970)
- Furcifer cephalolepis (Günther, 1880) - Comoros
- Panther chameleon ( Furcifer pardalis (Cuvier, 1829))
- Furcifer polleni (Peters, 1874) - Comoros
- Furcifer tuzetae (Brygoo, Bourgat & Domergue, 1972)
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Furcifer verrucosus group: Large species with a high helmet but no nose appendages
- Furcifer nicosiai Jesu, Mattioli & Schimmenti, 1999
- Giant chameleon ( Furcifer oustaleti (Mocquard, 1894))
- Furcifer verrucosus Cuvier , 1829
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Furcifer rhinoceratus group: Medium-sized to large species with clearly developed nasal appendages
- Furcifer antimena (Grandidier, 1872)
- Furcifer labordi (Grandidier, 1872)
- Furcifer rhinoceratus (Gray, 1843)
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Furcifer lateralis group: Relatively small species without nasal appendages and without or only with a rudimentary dorsal crest; with two parallel rows of cusps
- Furcifer campani (Grandidier, 1872)
- Carpet chameleon ( Furcifer lateralis (Gray, 1831))
literature
- Frank Glaw , Miguel Vences : Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar. 3. Edition. Vences & Glaw, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-929449-03-7 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ Kristopher B. Karsten, Laza N. Andriamandimbiarisoa, Stanley F. Fox, Christopher J. Raxworthy: A unique life history among tetrapods: An annual chameleon living mostly as an egg. In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . Vol. 105, No. 26, 2008, pp. 8980-8984, doi : 10.1073 / pnas.0802468105 .
- ↑ Short existence: chameleon lives in the egg most of the time. In: Spiegel Online . July 1, 2008, accessed February 27, 2015 .
