Archaius tigris (KUHL, 1820)
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Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
Subspecies | |
Common Names | |
Synonym | Chamaeleo tigris KUHL 1820: 104 Chamaeleo scychellensis KUHL 1820: 104 Chamaeleo seichellensis — CUVIER 1829 (n. emend. pro Chamaeleo scychellensis KUHL 1820) Chamaeleo tigris — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 212 Chamaeleo seychellensis — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836 (n. emend. pro Chamaeleo scychellensis KUHL 1820) Chameleo fimbriatus — GRAY 1845 (nom. nud.) Lophosaura tigris — GRAY 1865: 351 Chamaeleon tigris — WERNER 1911 Chamaeleo tigris — MERTENS 1966 Calumma tigris — KLAVER & BÖHME 1986 Calumma tigris — NECAS 1999: 253 Archaius tigris — TOWNSEND et al. 2010 Archaius tigris — TOLLEY et al. 2013 |
Distribution | Seychelles (Mahé, Praslin, Silhouette) Type locality: none given; Iles Seychelles (Guibé 1954) |
Reproduction | oviparous |
Types | Holotype: MNHN-RA 6640 (by monotypy) |
Diagnosis | Additional details, e.g. a detailed description or comparisons (961 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. |
Comment | Calumma tigris (Kuhl 1820) is endemic and the only chameleon occurring on the Seychelles. A phylogenetic analysis revealed that Calumma tigris is not closely related to other Calumma. TOWNSEND et al. (2010) thus proposed to put C. tigris in its own genus, Archaius GRAY 1865, because it “differs strikingly from its closest relatives, Rieppeleon, in microhabitat usage (arboreal versus ground-shrub dwelling), tail length (long versus short) and general appearance (larger and more colourful versus small and drab). Type species: Chamaeleo tigris is the type species of the genus Archaius GRAY 1865 (LOVERIDGE 1957). |
Etymology | Possibly named after the tiger pattern, but that’s not obvious. The genus name is from Greek “archaios”, ancient, primitive. |
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