Trioceros ellioti
| Trioceros ellioti | ||||||||||||
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Elliot's chameleon ♀ ( Trioceros ellioti ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Trioceros ellioti | ||||||||||||
| ( Günther , 1895) |
Trioceros ellioti ( Syn . : Chamaeleo ellioti ) is a relatively small chameleon species with a length of 15 to 22 cm, whose range extends around the entire Lake Victoria . It is a very adaptable species of chameleon, which is found at altitudes of 600-3000 m above sea level. Above all, they prefer savannah landscapes with low shrubbery and tall grass, as well as forest edges and, in some cases, areas and gardens usedas crop successors . In the habitat, daytime temperatures are usually between 25 and 27 ° C and drop to 16-18 ° C at night, and even to 10 ° C at high altitudes. The relative humidity is approx. 60–80% with an average rainfall of 1000 mm per year. Trioceros ellioti mostly only reaches an age of 1 to 2 years in nature. In captivity, however, they can live up to 4 years. The transition to ovoviviparium in these animals is noteworthy, which enables them to reproduce even in colder high mountain areas. Colloquially, Trioceros ellioti is sometimes referred to as Elliot's or Blue Chameleon. However, these names have not found their way into scientific publications or the like.
Appearance
The helmet is only slightly pronounced and there are evenly jagged ridges over the back, stomach and throat. The rest of the scaling of the body is rather irregular. The females of this species reach a total length of 22 cm. The males remain somewhat smaller with a maximum of 17 cm. A definite distinguishing feature of the sex is the thickened tail root, which is very pronounced in the males and completely absent in the females. The large, heterogeneous distribution area and the extreme height amplitude are also reflected in the variability of the color. Depending on the population, the color spectrum of the males is as diverse as that of the carpet chameleons and usually has a high proportion of blue and yellow. The females are usually less noticeable and only show themselves in brown, gray or green tones. What all animals have in common is the white or brown lateral stripe, which extends over the entire flank. Due to its close relationship with Trioceros bitaeniatus , it is often confused with this one. However, it can be very easily distinguished from it by its 2–3 black longitudinal stripes in the interstitial skin on the throat sac.
Reproduction
Trioceros ellioti is ovoviviparous . The females of this species give birth to 2 to 14 young animals up to four times a year. This usually happens in the early hours of the morning, with the fully developed young animals in a clear egg membrane simply being deposited on the grass. Just a few minutes later, the offspring break free from this skin. Due to the ability to store the sperm in the receptaculum seminis , the females can produce several clutches with one mating. Nevertheless, they are ready to mate again around 14 days after birth. The young themselves are sexually mature after about six to nine months and the gestation period is 100–160 days. For the mating act itself, the male is placed in the female's basin. After a brief orientation, the male should approach the female with nodding head movements. If this is not ready to mate, it will show a warning color and the male will bite or try to escape when it comes closer. Otherwise it does nothing and mating takes place in that the male climbs sideways on the female and tries to bring both cloacal openings one above the other. The copulation itself takes about 15 minutes.
literature
- Andreas Böhle: The keeping of highland chameleons. In: Draco. Vol. 7, No. 27, 2006, ISSN 1439-8168 , pp. 40-44.
- Werner Lantermann, Yvonne Lantermann: Chameleons in the East Usambara Mountains in northern Tanzania. In: Draco. Vol. 7, No. 27, 2006, pp. 45-48.
- Rolf Leptien: On the keeping of a female of Chamaeleo ellioti GÜNTHER 1895 with the evidence of Amphigonia retardata (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae). In: Salamandra . Vol. 25, No. 1, 1989, pp. 21-24.
- Petr Nečas: chameleons. Colorful jewels of nature. 3rd improved and revised edition. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt am Main 2004, ISBN 3-930612-02-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 .
- Peter Uetz : On the growth and age of Chamaeleo ellioti Günther 1895. In: Sauria. Vol. 11, No. 4, 1989, ISSN 0176-9391 , pp. 27-29.