Bradypodion

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Bradypodion
Robertson dwarf chameleon (Bradypodion gutturale) at Anysberg Nature Reserve
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Chamaeleonidae
Subfamily: Chamaeleoninae
Genus: Bradypodion
Fitzinger, 1843
Type species
Chamaeleo pumilus
Daudin, 1802
Diversity
20 species

Bradypodion (meaning "slow-footed" in

arboreal, but some species are mostly found low in the vegetation.[1]

Bradypodion feed on small invertebrates, especially insects.[1] They rapidly reach sexual maturity, typically at an age between half a year and one year, but sometimes up to two years.[1][2] Adult males are territorial.[1] It is the only genus of chameleon where females of all species give birth to live young rather than lay eggs (the only other chameleons that give birth to live young are certain Trioceros species). This is likely an adaption to the relatively cold climate of southern Africa in comparison to tropical Africa. Colder temperatures slow the development of eggs laid in the ground; when instead retained inside the body until birth, a female can actively sun bask to increase the temperature.[3] A female can give birth to up to 20 young per time, twice or rarely even three times in a year.[1]

Up until the early 2000s, some other chameleons from eastern and central Africa were occasionally placed herein, but they are now placed in Kinyongia and Nadzikambia.[4]

Species

20 species are currently recognized:

Image Common Name Scientific name Distribution
Swartberg dwarf chameleon B. atromontanum Western Cape, South Africa
B. barbatulum South Africa
B.baviaanense South Africa
uMlalazi dwarf chameleon
 B. caeruleogula KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Transkei dwarf chameleon B. caffrum Eastern Cape Province of South Africa
Knysna dwarf chameleon B. damaranum Knysna, South Africa
Drakensberg dwarf chameleon B. dracomontanum Drakensberg, South Africa
Robertson dwarf chameleon B. gutturale (may be several species) Western Cape province, South Africa.
Kentani dwarf chameleon B. kentanicum Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Black-headed dwarf chameleon B. melanocephalum KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Zululand dwarf chameleon B. nemorale (probably several species) South Africa.
Ngome dwarf chameleon B. ngomeense Ngome Forest, Kwa-Zulu Natal.
Namaqua dwarf chameleon B. occidentale South Africa and Namibia.
Cape dwarf chameleon B. pumilum South African province of the Western Cape
Setaro's dwarf chameleon B. setaroi northern Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Smith's dwarf chameleon B. taeniabronchum South Africa
Natal Midlands dwarf chameleon B. thamnobates South African province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Transvaal dwarf chameleon B. transvaalense Mpumalanga and Limpopo provinces, South Africa
Southern dwarf chameleon
 B. ventrale Eastern Cape, South Africa.
B. venustum South Africa

Undescribed species

An emerald dwarf chameleon
  • Emerald dwarf chameleon, Bradypodion sp. (Emerald)
  • Bradypodion sp. (Groendal)
  • Bradypodion sp. (Grootvadersbosch)
  • Bradypodion sp. (Jagersbos)

Systematics

Delimitation of Bradypodion has been controversial for some time. Most species seem readily distinguishable by

sequence data.[9]

The

plesiomorphic, retained from the genus' ancestor.[9]

The remaining species form a well-supported

Drakensberg Mountains: the southern Drakensberg dwarf chameleon, the northern Transvaal dwarf chameleon, and what appears to be undescribed species from the Ngome Forest on the southeastern slopes. These are also plesiomorphic in habitus and habits.[9]

Another group of taxa occurs from easternmost Eastern Cape to central

radiation from a single ancestor, and the group requires more research as regards species limits, and geographical delimitation from the Drakensberg dwarf chameleon.[9]

Several largish but short-tailed and

apomorphies, the Namaqua dwarf chameleon, is quite distant to the others; it occurs in coastal regions from north of the Cape species through Namaqualand. This is probably still a part of a single radiation which brought about all the aridland taxa, and eventually Smith's dwarf chameleon.[9]

The remaining species are all small inhabitants of forested slopes and fynbos, such as the black-headed and Smith's dwarf chameleons. However, as already indicated by the distinctness of these two, their morphologies seem to be a

uThungulu apparently consists of two or more species, one that may be closer to the preceding, and one that might be an early offshoot of the ancestral Drakensberg stock, and which are distinguishable by morphological and mtDNA characteristics.[11]

In conclusion, of the three basic morphotypes found in this genus, one (bright, long-tailed, large) is plesiomorphic, another (large, short-tailed, drab) apparently only evolved once, and the third (the small, slope-inhabiting forms) are convergent in morphology. The ancestors of Bradypodion thus were mid-sized chameleons with vivid color, which settled the Cape region from roughly north-northwestwards. Due to

Free State, and Lesotho. The aridland habitat fluctuates in extent during climate shifts, and mountainous habitat becomes fragmented or consolidates accordingly. Consequently, the Drakensberg, the B. thamnobates-B. melanocephalum, and the aridland group, as well as several coastal lineages, diverged and evolved to their present-day ranges and diversity.[9]

Footnotes

  1. ^
    ISBN 1-86872-040-3
    .
  2. ^ "Ep 21: South African Dwarf Chameleons". ChameleonAcademy. 15 April 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
  3. doi:10.1111/jzs.12328
    .
  4. doi:10.11646/ZOOTAXA.1363.1.2
    .
  5. ^ Klaver & Böhme (1986), Branch (1998)
  6. ^ Klaver & Böhme (1997)
  7. ^ Branch (1998), Tolley et al. (2004)
  8. ^ Raw (2001)
  9. ^ a b c d e f Tolley et al. (2004)
  10. ^ Branch (1998): plate 1, Tolley et al. (2004)
  11. ^ Raw (2001), Tolley et al. (2004)

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bradypodion.
  • Branch, W.R. (1998): Field Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Struik Publishers Ltd, Cape Town (revised edition).
  • Klaver, C.J.J. & Böhme, W. (1986): Phylogeny and classification of the Chamaeleonidae (Sauria) with special reference to hemipenis morphology. Bonner Zoologische Monographien 22: 1–64.
  • Klaver, C.J.J. & Böhme, W. (1997): Liste der rezenten Amphibien und Reptilien - Chamaeleonidae. Das Tierreich 112: i-xiv, 1-85.
  • Tolley, Krystal A.; Tilbury, Colin R.; Branch, William R. & Matthee, Conrad A. (2004): Phylogenetics of the southern African dwarf chameleons, Bradypodion (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30: 354–365.
    doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00211-2 PDF fulltext
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