Rough mountain chameleon
| Rough mountain chameleon | ||||||||||||
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Trioceros rudis , males in resting color |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Trioceros rudis | ||||||||||||
| ( Boulenger , 1906) |
The rough mountain chameleon ( Trioceros rudis , syn .: Chamaeleo rudis ) is a small, montane- living chameleon species from East and Central Africa . The species is usually found in mining regions above 2300 m above sea level.
features
coloring
With a total length of 16-20 cm, the rough mountain chameleon is one of the smallest species of the genus Trioceros . The basic color of the species ranges from dull brown and beige tones to a bright green and changes depending on mood, environment and temperature. Both sexes have two yellow to orange colored side stripes in resting color, which extend horizontally along both sides of the body from the base of the tail to the neck and open into cheek patches of the same color. In males in particular, these stripes often combine to form an extensive area of color that covers almost the entire side of the body. In addition, depending on their mood, both sexes show diverse, hardly contrasting ornaments, rhombuses, horizontal and vertical stripes in blue, green, yellow, orange, brown, black and sometimes also red shades.
anatomy
The body is typical of a chameleon, the four very flexible legs each have five clawed toes, which have grown together to form "gripping pincers". Both sexes have a small helmet, pronounced eyebrow edges and an inconspicuous, irregularly jagged and only a few millimeters high back and stomach crest. Neither horns nor a nasal process are formed. The long tail is used as an additional grasping organ and is rolled up under the body in the resting position.
Gender differences
The sexes differ mainly in body shape. Females are usually much more plump and larger than males; in addition, male individuals have a thickened tail base caused by hemipenic pockets.
Occurrence and habitat
The distribution area of the rough mountain chameleon extends in the east African mountain regions from south-west Uganda over the east of the Congo and Rwanda to Burundi . The species was located at altitudes between 2300 and 3000 m. The temperatures in these always humid altitudes reach 22-25 ° C during the day all year round and drop to 8-14 ° C at night. The air humidity is constantly in a high range of 70–100%. The rough mountain chameleon inhabits forests as well as open bush and grasslands in these regions and mostly lives in an area of 1–2 m above the ground.
behavior
As a diurnal ambulance hunter, Trioceros rudis spends a large part of his time in the branches of bushes and trees, where it ambushes its prey - small invertebrates. Potential food animals are targeted with both eyes, as is typical for chameleons, captured with a targeted “shot” of the long sling tongue and swallowed whole. Little is known about the social behavior of this species in the wild, but it can be assumed that the rough mountain chameleon is a solitary species that only comes together in pairs for reproduction. Terrarium observations show that the intraspecific aggression in Trioceros rudis is less pronounced compared to other species (e.g. veiled chameleon ).
Reproduction
The rough mountain chameleon reproduces ovoviviparously , whereby the female gives birth to 5 - 12 live young animals per litter, which are surrounded by a transparent, sticky egg skin attached to branches, leaves and tree bark and expand on their own a few seconds after birth free this membrane. The approx. 40 mm long newborns do not yet have the bright green color of the old animals, but mainly show a brown basic color in light and dark shades. You are self-employed from birth. Nothing is known about courtship and mating behavior in the wild.
Systematics
Trioceros rudis from the Mt. Ruwenzori area in Uganda was first described and named in 1906 by George Albert Boulenger . Although no horns are formed, one counts Trioceros rudis according to modern knowledge within the genus Chamaeleo to the subgenus of the three- horned chameleons ( Trioceros ). Four subspecies have been described, at least two of which are disputed and recognized by the majority of authors as separate species.
- Trioceros rudis rudis , found in Uganda, Rwanda and in the northeast of the Republic of the Congo
- Trioceros rudis schoutedeni , occurrence in the Kabobo Mountains in the east of the Republic of the Congo (validity disputed, is mostly recognized as an independent species Trioceros schoutedeni )
- Trioceros rudis schubotzi , occurrence on Mt. Kenya, Kenya (validity disputed, is mostly recognized as an independent species Trioceros schubotzi )
- Trioceros rudis sternfeldi , occurrence in Tanzania (validity disputed, is mostly recognized as an independent species Trioceros sternfeldi )
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c d Edoardo Razzetti, Charles Andekia Msuya: Field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of Arusha National Park (Tanzania). Pubblinova Edizioni Negri and Instituto OIKOS, Varese 2002, p. 44.
- ^ Iten-Online, Butare climate diagram, Uganda, available online
- ^ California Academy of Sciences, Dpt. for Herpetology, profile of Chamaeleo rudis available online ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Petr Nečas: Chameleons. Nature's Hidden Jewels. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main 1999, ISBN 3-930612-04-6 .
literature
- Petr Nečas: chameleons. Colorful jewels of nature. 3rd, improved and revised edition. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main 2004, ISBN 3-930-61202-X .
- Wolfgang Schmidt, Klaus Tamm, Erich Wallikewitz: Chameleons. Dragons of our time. 5th, completely revised and expanded edition. Natur-und-Tier-Verlag, Münster 2010, ISBN 978-3-86659-133-2 .
