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Bradypodion pumilum (GMELIN, 1789)

IUCN Red List - Bradypodion pumilum - Near Threatened, NT
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Higher TaxaChamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Cape Dwarf Chameleon
G: Buntes Zwergchamäleon 
SynonymChamaeleon bonae spei LAURENTI 1768 (?)
Lacerta pumila GMELIN in LINNAEUS 1789: 1069
Chamaeleon pumilus — MEYER 1795: 27
Chamaeleo thermophilus GRAVENHORST 1807: 429
Chamaeleo margaritaceus MERREM 1820
Chameleo pumillus — GRAY 1831 (err. pro Lacerta pumila GMELIN 1789)
Chamaeleo pumilus — DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1836: 217
Lophosaura pumila var. fordii GRAY 1865
Lophosaura pumila — GRAY 1865: 350
Chamaeleon punilus — ANGEL 1929 (err. pro Ch. pumilus GMELIN 1789)
Chamaeleo pusillus var. ? — GRAY 1865 (err. pro Ch. pumilus, syn. B. ventrale)
Chamaeleon pumilus — LOVERIDGE 1936: 78
Microsaura pumila — ENGELBRECHT 1951
Chameleo pumillus pumillus — HILLENIUS 1959: 63
Chamaeleo pumilus — MERTENS 1966: 23
Microsaura pumila — BUSACK & BUSACK 1967
Bradypodion pumilum — RAW 1976: 141
Chamaeleo pumilus — GOTCH 1986
Bradypodion pumilum pumilum — KLAVER & BÖHME 1997: 25
Bradypodion pumilum — NECAS 1999: 198
Bradypodion pumilum — BRANCH et al. 2006
Bradypodion pumilum — TILBURY 2010: 295
Bradypodion pumilum — CAMPBELL & DENZER 2020 
DistributionRepublic of South Africa, S Mozambique, S Namibia

Type locality: Cape of Good Hope, South Africa [by implication]  
Reproductionovoviviparous 
TypesType: unlocated; based on SEBA (1734) 1; plate 83, fig. 5
Syntypes: NHMUK 1946.8.21.8 (Previously NHMUK1864.10.6.5 or BMNH), male, Haslar Collection; NHMUK 1946.8.22.16 (Previously NHMUK1855.10.16.118), male, Haslar Collection [fordii] 
Diagnosis 
CommentSubspecies: Note that many subspecies of B. pumilum are now treated as separate species (see the species entries for more information). For a long discussion on the nomenclature and status of this species see KLAVER & BÖHME 1997: 54.

Distribution: For a map see TOLLEY et al. (2004).

Type species: Lacerta pumila GMELIN in LINNAEUS 1789 is the type species of the genus Bradypodion FITZINGER 1843 (fide TILBURY et al. 2006).

Habitat: thickets, reed beds, and fynbos vegetation.

Phylogenetics (genus): Main et al. 2024.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “pumilus” and “pumilio” = dwarf.

The genus is named after Greek “bradys” = slow and “podion”, diminutive of “podos” = foot: slow small-foot, referring to the slow movements generally and the small size of the type species. 
References
  • Barends, J. M., Petford, M. A., & Tolley, K. A. 2024. Comparing perch availability and perch use between African dwarf chameleon (Bradypodion) ectomorphs. Current Zoology, zoae076
  • Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp.
  • Bauer, L. 2005. Traag van Tred: Bradypodion pumilum. Lacerta 63 (5): 180-190 - get paper here
  • Branch, Wiliam R., Krystal A. Tolley and Colin R. Tilbury 2006. A new Dwarf Chameleon (Sauria: Bradypodion Fitzinger, 1843) from the Cape Fold Mountains, South Africa. African Journal of Herpetology 55 (2):123-141. - get paper here
  • Busack, S.D., and L.D. Busack. 1967. Notes on the growth rate of Microsaura pumila pumila (Lacertidae: Chamaeleontidae). Herpetologica 23(3): 231–232
  • CAMPBELL, PATRICK D; WOLFGANG DENZER 2020. Annotated catalogue of chameleon types in the collection of the Natural History Museum, UK (NHMUK) (Reptilia: Squamata: Chamaeleonidae). Zootaxa 4742 (3): 481–500 - get paper here
  • Duméril, A.M. C. and G. Bibron. 1836. Erpetologie Générale ou Histoire Naturelle Complete des Reptiles. Vol. 3. Libr. Encyclopédique Roret, Paris, 528 pp. - get paper here
  • Engelbrecht, D. van Z. 1951. Contributions to the cranial morphology of the chameleon Microsaura pumila Daudin. Annals of the University of Stellenbosch, (A), 27: 4–31
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  • Gravenhorst, J. L. C. 1807. Vergleichende Übersicht des Linneischen und einiger neueren zoologischen Systeme, nebst dem eingeschalteten Verzeichnisse der zoologischen Sammlung des Verfassers und den Beschreibungen neuer Thierarten, die in derselben vorhanden sind. Heinrich Dietrich, Göttingen: i-xvi + 1-476. - get paper here
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  • Mertens, Robert 1966. Liste der rezenten Amphibien und Reptilien: Chamaeleonidae. Das Tierreich 83: 1-37
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