Chameleons -- perhaps one of the most instantly identifiable herps out there. But beyond their strange morphological adaptations what do we know about their lives? We check out a couple of papers looking at the lives of some East African species who until recently were missing some pretty basic natural history information. They are joined by a newly described species from the hills of Tanzania. FULL REFERENCE LIST AVAILABLE AT: herphighlights.podbean.com
Main Paper References:
Hughes, D. F., Blackburn, D. G., Wilber, L., & Behangana, M. (2018). New distribution records, observations on natural history, and notes on reproduction of the poorly known Sudanese Unicorn Chameleon (Chamaeleonidae: Trioceros conirostratus) from Uganda, Africa. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, 12(2), 83–89.
Reaney, L. T., Yee, S., Losos, J. B., & Whiting, M. J. (2012). Ecology of the Flap-Necked Chameleon Chamaeleo dilepis In Southern Africa. Breviora, 532(September), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3099/532.1
Species of the Bi-Week:
Menegon, M., Loader, S. P., Davenport, T. R. B., Howell, K. M., Tilbury, C. R., Machaga, S., & Tolley, K. A. (2015). A new species of Chameleon (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae: Kinyongia) highlights the biological affinities between the Southern Highlands and Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania. Acta Herpetologica, 10(2), 111–120. https://doi.org/10.13128/Acta_Herpetol-17171
Other Mentioned Papers/Studies:
Hebrard, J. J., & Madsen, T. (1984). Dry season intersexual habitat partitioning by flap-necked chameleons (Chamaeleo dilepis) in Kenya. Biotropica, 69-72.
Main, D. C., van Vuuren, B. J., & Tolley, K. A. (2018). Cryptic diversity in the common flap-necked chameleon Chamaeleo dilepis in South Africa. African Zoology, 53(1), 11-16.
Meiri, S. (2018). Traits of lizards of the world: Variation around a successful evolutionary design. Global Ecology and Biogeography, (June 2017), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12773
Miller, A. K., Maritz, B., McKay, S., Glaudas, X., & Alexander, G. J. (2015). An ambusher's arsenal: chemical crypsis in the puff adder (Bitis arietans). Proc. R. Soc. B, 282(1821), 20152182.
Preest, M. R., Ward, M. J., Poon, T., & Hermanson, J. W. (2016). Chemical Prey Luring in Jackson’s Chameleons. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 89(2), 110–117. https://doi.org/10.1086/685455
Stipala, J. 2014. Mountain Dragons: In Search of Chameleons in the Highlands of Kenya. Jan Stipala, Singapore.
Tilbury CR, Tolley KA, Branch, WR (2006). A review of the genus Bradypodion (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae), with the descriptions of two new genera. Zootaxa 1363: 23-38. (Kinyongia, new genus).
Other Links/Mentions:
Video of flap necked chameleon vs boomslang: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnhX_ho9DsE
Another, where chameleon loses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23TxyVZiICo
Music:
Intro/outro – Treehouse by Ed Nelson
Other Music – The Passion HiFi, www.thepassionhifi.com
130 Versatile Blue Tongue
129 Fast Food is Bad for Turtles Too
128 Swampy Siren Songs
127 Frog Calls in a Concrete Jungle
126 The Salamanders That Parachute
125 Last of the Giant Lizards
124 Garter Snake Gangs
123 Fantastic Mr Foxsnake
122 Volcano Lizards
121 The Cheeky Startler
120 Vipers With Eyebrows
119 Crocodile Comeback
118 The Frogs That Cannot Hop
117 Predation Liberation - Shine on Chameleons
116 The Unfamiliar Scent of Death
115 Tag! You’re Envenomated
114 Not All Retics Are The Same
113 Bearded Dragons Dodgy Dinners
112 Intoxicated Crocs
111 Steps Towards Turtle Rehabilitation
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