Trioceros kinangopensis STIPALA, LUTZMANN, MALONZA, WILKINSON, GODLEY, NYAMACHE & EVANS, 2012

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Higher Taxa	Chamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies
Common Names	E: Aberdare Mountains Dwarf Chameleon
Synonym	Trioceros kinangopensis STIPALA, LUTZMANN, MALONZA, WILKINSON, GODLEY, NYAMACHE & EVANS 2012 Trioceros kinangopensis — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 295
Distribution	Kenya (Aberdare mountains), 3500–3600m elevation Type locality: Kinangop Peak (3500m), Aberdare Mountains National Park, Kenya.
Reproduction	viviparous (phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022)
Types	Holotype: NMK 3071/12, adult male, collected by Jan Stipala and Joash Nyamache on 24th February 2007. Paratypes. 7 males and 5 females. NMK 3071/1, 3–5, 7, 11, males, NMK 3071/ 2, 6, 8–9, females, locality same as holotype; NMK 2536/1, male, NMK 2536/2, female, vicinity of Kinangop Peak.
Diagnosis	Diagnosis: A small, robust-bodied chameleon that differs from other members of the bitaeniatus group in having a combination of the following characters: tail shorter than SVL in both sexes; heterogeneous body scalation (fine body scales with small scattered tubercles and two lateral rows of enlarged tubercles on each flank); low straight casque; short gular crest (orange in males); scales on the temporal region moderately enlarged and graduating in size posteriorly to merge with the body scales; snout with sloping profile and smooth canthus rostrales [STIPALA et al. 2012].
Comment	Similar species: T. schubotzi but T. kinangopensis differs in the lack of sexual size dimorphism, smaller-sized females, smoother, less angular canthus rostrales, smaller scales on the temporal region and a bright orange gular crest in males. Abundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017).
Etymology	T. kinangopensis sp. nov. is named after the collecting locality, Kinangop Peak at the southern end of the Aberdare Mountains, Kenya.
References	Glaw, F. 2015. Taxonomic checklist of chameleons (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae). [type catalogue] Vertebrate Zoology 65 (2): 167–246 - get paper here Meiri, Shai; Aaron M. Bauer, Allen Allison, Fernando Castro-Herrera, Laurent Chirio, Guarino Colli, Indraneil Das, Tiffany M. Doan, Frank Glaw, Lee L. Grismer, Marinus Hoogmoed, Fred Kraus, Matthew LeBreton, Danny Meirte, Zoltán T. Nagy, Cristiano d 2017. Extinct, obscure or imaginary: the lizard species with the smallest ranges. Diversity and Distributions - get paper here Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here Stipala, J. 2014. Mountain Dragons - In search of chameleon diversity in the highlands of Kenya. Jan Stipala, 124 pp., ISBN: 978-0-9928176-0-2 - get paper here STIPALA, JAN; NICOLA LUTZMANN, PATRICK K. MALONZA, PAUL WILKINSON, BRENDAN GODLEY, JOASH NYAMACHE & MATTHEW R. EVANS 2012. A new species of chameleon (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae) from the Aberdare Mountains in the central highlands of Kenya. Zootaxa 3391: 1–22 - 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

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