The Arabian Chameleon in Abyan (Yemen)

The Arabian Chameleon in Abyan (Yemen)

by Alex Laube Verbreitung Science

The majority of overview studies on the occurrence of reptiles in Yemen date back to the 1990s. More recent research is mainly based on areas close to cities, but less on more remote regions. Two biologists from the Universities of Aden and Abyan have recently published a survey on the occurrence of reptiles in Abyan.

The Abyan governorate is located in the south of Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the Gulf of Aden to the south and the governorates of Aden, Lahji, Al Bayda, and Shabwa to the west, north and east. 44 areas in Abyan were surveyed within a whole year. Reptiles were caught by hand and some were merely documented, while others were killed and preserved. A total of 202 animals were examined.

A total of 24 different reptile species were found. Chamaeleo arabicus was found in the districts of Lawdar, Zinjibar, Khanfir and Jayshan. Of the 23 finds, most were made in western Khanfir, not far from the town of Zinjibar. Two chameleons were found in northern Lawdar and only one in southern Jayshan. The authors point out that the chameleons are mainly found in cultivated landscapes.

Distribution of lizards in Abyan Governorate, Yemen
Salem M. Busais, Wafa A. Abo-Alib, Hasan M. Alrahowi
Electronic Journal of University of Aden for Basic and Applied Sciences 4 (1), 2023
DOI: 10.47372/ejua-ba.2023.1.220

Panther chameleons in Madagascar

Panther chameleons in Madagascar

by Alex Laube General topics Verbreitung Newspaper articles

In the bi-monthly magazine of the DGHT e.V., the Elaphe, a nice article on the panther chameleons of Madagascar has been published. It was written by two members of the AG Chamäleons who regularly travel to the island.

The article describes in words and pictures the distribution area of the panther chameleons on Madagascar, which extends over the northern half of the island, more precisely from a few kilometres south of the village of Ankaramibe in the northwest to the north of Madagascar and down the east coast to about 90 km south of the port city of Toamasina. The chameleons are found mainly in secondary vegetation in open landscapes, but also in cocoa plantations, overgrown gardens and rainforests.

The life cycle of the panther chameleons in Madagascar is mainly determined by the rainy season between November and March. The chameleons mate during this time. After 30 to 40 days, the females lay between 11 and 35 eggs in a nest they have dug themselves. The young hatch only in the next rainy season.

The article goes into particular detail about the different local forms, the different colour appearance of the male panther chameleons depending on the location. The authors currently count more than 30 different local forms on Madagascar, which are separated from each other by natural barriers such as rivers. There are probably many more, but not all of them have been discovered yet.

Pantherchamäleons (Furcifer pardalis) – Meister der Farben
Thorsten Negro and Alexandra Laube
Elaphe 3, 2023, pp. 12-25

Photo: Panther chameleon of the local form Ambanja on Madagascar, photographed by Thorsten Negro.

New distribution data on Chamaeleo zeylanicus

New distribution data on Chamaeleo zeylanicus

by Alex Laube Verbreitung Science

A biologist from India has published findings of the Indian Chameleon (Chamaeleo zeylanicus) that narrow down the distribution of the species more precisely. The Aravalli Mountains are located about 150 km west of the Indian capital New Delhi in northwest India. It runs for 670 km in a south-westerly direction, passing through three different states: Haryana, Rajasthan, and Gujarat. Until now, the Indian chameleon was thought to occur in the south and centre of Rajasthan, but was not common in the north, east, or west. So far, no findings had been documented from Haryana at all.

The biologist describes six observations of the Indian Chameleon between 2015 and 2022, during which Chamaeleo zeylanicus was seen four times in the Sariska Tiger Reserve and once each at Manesar and Damdama lakes, at altitudes between 223 and 476 m asl. The former is in northern Rajasthan, the two lakes not far from it in southern Haryana. The forest of the site in the Sariska Tiger Reserve is dominated by Indian lungwort (Adhatoda vasica), prairie mugwort (Parthenium integrifolium) and mesquite tree (Prosopis juliflora). The chameleons found in Haryana were found on roadsides with carira (Capparis decidua) and mesquite trees.

New distributional records of Asian Chameleons (Chamaeleo zeylanicus Laurenti 1768), from the Northern Aravali Hill range, India
Debaprasad Sengupta
Reptiles & Amphibians 30 (1), 2023: pp. 1-2
DOI: 10.17161/randa.v30i1.18614