Kinyongia gyrolepis GREENBAUM, TOLLEY, JOMA & KUSAMBA, 2012

Find more photos by Google images search:

Higher Taxa	Chamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Circular-scaled Chameleon
Synonym	Kinyongia gyrolepis GREENBAUM, TOLLEY, JOMA & KUSAMBA 2012
Distribution	Democractic Republic of the Congo (Zaire: Lendu Plateau, west of Lake Albert) Type locality: DRC, Orientale Province, Aboro, 2.1115°N, 30.8338°E (datum = WGS84), 2142 m elevation.
Reproduction	oviparous (phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022)
Types	Holotype: UTEP 20338 (field no. EBG 2436), adult female, 7 July 2009, collected by E. Greenbaum, C. Kusamba, M. M. Aristote, and W. Moninga.
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: Kinyongia gyrolepis can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: (1) rostral process absent, (2) moderate body size, adult SVL 61– 72 mm, (3) tail length longer than SVL in both sexes, (4) casque slightly elevated above dorsal crest, (5) dorsal crest with 5–12 low, spaced conical tubercles, becoming increasingly smaller posteriorly and absent by middorsum, (6) gular crest absent, (7) ventral crest absent, and (8) flank scalation heterogeneous, with enlarged, circular scales (sometimes with a hollow center, possibly an artifact of preservation) on the dorsal half of the flanks (Tables 2–3 in GREENBAUM et al. 2012).
Comment	Sympatry: Trioceros sp., Adolfus jacksoni, Congolacerta vauereselli, Trachylepis megalura, and T. striata. Acanthocercus atricollis kiwuensis was collected on lower elevations of the Lendu Plateau east of Bunia.
Etymology	Named after the distinctive enlarged circular scales on the lateral side of the body, used a noun in apposition.
References	Glaw, F. 2015. Taxonomic checklist of chameleons (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae). [type catalogue] Vertebrate Zoology 65 (2): 167–246 - get paper here Greenbaum, E. 2017. Emerald Labyrinth. ForeEdge / University Press of New England, xviii + 329 pp. [published in 2017 but book says 2018] - get paper here Greenbaum, Eli; Krystal A. Tolley, Abdulmeneem Joma, and Chifundera Kusamba 2012. A New Species of Chameleon (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae: Kinyongia) from the Northern Albertine Rift, Central Africa. Herpetologica 68 (1): 60-75. - get paper here Zimin, A., Zimin, S. V., Shine, R., Avila, L., Bauer, A., Böhm, M., Brown, R., Barki, G., de Oliveira Caetano, G. H., Castro Herrera, F., Chapple, D. G., Chirio, L., Colli, G. R., Doan, T. M., Glaw, F., Grismer, L. L., Itescu, Y., Kraus, F., LeBreton 2022. A global analysis of viviparity in squamates highlights its prevalence in cold climates. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 00, 1–16 - get paper here
External links	IUCN Red List National Center for Biotechnology Information Google images

Is it interesting? Share with others:

Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator