Bradypodion caffrum (BOETTGER, 1889)
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Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | E: Pondo Dwarf Chameleon, Transkei Dwarf Chameleon |
Synonym | Chamaeleon caffer BOETTGER 1889: 292 Chamaeleon caffer — WERNER 1911: 24 Lophosaura caffer — HEWITT 1935: 300 Chamaeleo pumilus caffer — HILLENIUS 1959: 63 Chamaeleo pumilus caffer — MERTENS 1966: 23 Bradypodion caffrum — RAW 1976: 141 Bradypodion pumilum caffer — KLAVER & BÖHME 1997:25 Bradypodion caffrum — NECAS 1999: 275 Bradypodion caffrum — TOLLEY et al. 2004 Bradypodion caffer — TILBURY 2010: 245 Bradypodion caffrum — RAW 2022 |
Distribution | Republic of South Africa (E Cape Province) Type locality: Pondoland, South Africa |
Reproduction | ovoviviparous |
Types | Holotype: ZISP 7724, female Holotype: unlocated; presumed lost (FITZSIMONS 1943: 162) |
Diagnosis | |
Comment | The name caffer should be retained for the following reason: “Where the author of a species-group name did not indicate whether he or she regarded it as a noun or as an adjective, and where it may be regarded as either and the evidence of usage is not decisive, it is to be treated as a noun in apposition to the name of its genus”. The original spelling is to be retained, with gender ending unchanged, see Article 31.2.1 and 31.2.2 of the International Code of Zoological Nomerclature (4th edition, 1999); [pers. comm. of Ch. Klaver]. However, Raw 2022 argued that the name should be caffrum, as it is a neuter adjective. Distribution: For a map see TOLLEY et al. (2004). |
Etymology | Apparently named after British Kaffraria, the name given to the area between the Kei and Keiskamma rivers in the latter half of the 19th century (Raw 2022). However, it is more likely that “caffra” is derived from a derogatory term for black Africans that has been considered extremely offensive since the mid-20th century and is now illegal to use in South Africa. The epithet caffra is arguably a derivative of the ethnic slur, which itself is derived from the Arabic kaffir, meaning infidel (Pethiyagoda 2023). |
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