The European chameleon Chamaeleo chamaeleon inhabits a range that extends from North Africa through southern Portugal and Spain as well as Cyprus and Malta to Lebanon, Syria and Turkey. So far, however, very little is known about the populations in Turkey.

Turkish biologists have recently undertaken the first small study to change this state. They examined 29 European chameleons for their snout-vent-length and, using skeletochronology, for their age. 15 of them were males, 14 females. The animals studied were museum specimens from Dokuz Eylül University. They were collected in the surroundings of the Akyatan lagoon at earlier times. Akyatan is located in the south of Turkey directly on the Mediterranean Sea, about 200 km from the Syrian border. The nearest major Turkish cities are Mersin and Adana.

The average head-torso length of Chamaeleo chamaeleon from Akyatan was 85.34 mm, with females slightly larger than males. The smallest chamaeleon measured 59.71 mm, and the largest 106.84 mm. Thus, the studied population in Akyatan seems to be possibly somewhat smaller than the comparative populations in Spain and Egypt. However, the numbers of animals examined are too small to be able to make reliable statements about this. The age of the animals was between two and four years. The males reached sexual maturity after the first hibernation, while the females did not reach sexual maturity until the second year of life.

Age and body size of the Mediterranean Chameleon, Chamaeleo chamaeleon (Linnaeus 1758) (Lacertilia: Chamaeleonidae) specimens collected from Adana, Türkiye
Elif Yildirim, Nurettin Beşer, Can Yilmaz, Kamil Candan, Yusuf Kumlutaş, Çetin Ilgaz, Elnaz Najafi Majd
Commagene Journal of Biology
DOI: 10.31594/commagene.1104020