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Rhampholeon acuminatus MARIAUX & TILBURY, 2006

IUCN Red List - Rhampholeon acuminatus - Critically Endangered, CR
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Higher TaxaChamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Nguru pygmy chameleon 
SynonymRhampholeon (Rhinodigitum) acuminatus MARIAUX & TILBURY 2006
Rhampholeon (Rhinodigitum) acuminatus — TILBURY 2010: 161
Rhampholeon (Rhinodigitum) acuminatus — GLAW 2015
Rhampholeon acuminatus — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 249
Rhampholeon acuminatus — MENEGON et al. 2022: 97
Rampholeon acuminatus — MUNDUKA et al. 2024 (in error) 
DistributionTanzania (Nguru mountains)

Type locality: Tanzania, Morogoro region, Nguru mountains,
Nguru South Catchment FR, Komkore Forest above Ubili village [6°2'29" S; 37°30'40.5" E], elevation 1500–1600 m.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: MHNG 2645.001 (field tag TZ 414), male, 21 October 2000. Collected by J. Mariaux & S. Loader. Paratype: PEM R16271, ZFMK 87393 (ex-MHNG 2645.003), male 
DiagnosisDiagnosis: Chamaeleonidae, Rhampholeon (Rhinodigitum). With the characters of the subgenus. A small chameleon with SVL 47–57 mm (maximum TL 82 mm) and a tail 25–30% of TL. Adults are unmistakable due to their large discoid and vertically flattened rostral process (up to 5 × 3 mm) projecting forward off the rostrum (Figs 6-7), spinous supra-orbital and other cranial projections, prominent casque, exaggerated dorsal crest and numerous spines on the body, limbs
and tail. No axillary or inguinal pits. Claws bicuspid. Parietal peritoneum unpigmented. 
CommentAbundance: only known from its original description (Meiri et al. 2017). 
EtymologyFrom Latin acuminare (to sharpen), in reference to the numerous sharp spines found on the head and body. 
References
  • CONRADIE, WERNER; WILLIAM R. BRANCH, & GILLIAN WATSON 2019. Type specimens in the Port Elizabeth Museum, South Africa, including the historically important Albany Museum collection. Part 2: Reptiles (Squamata). Zootaxa 4576 (1): 001–045 - get paper here
  • FISSEHA, MAKDA; JEAN MARIAUX, MICHELE MENEGON 2013. The “Rhampholeon uluguruensis complex” (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae) and the taxonomic status of the pygmy chameleons in Tanzania. Zootaxa 3746 (3): 439–453 - get paper here
  • Glaw, F. 2015. Taxonomic checklist of chameleons (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae). [type catalogue] Vertebrate Zoology 65 (2): 167–246 - get paper here
  • Mariaux, Jean and Colin R. Tilbury. 2006. The pygmy chameleons of the eastern Arc range (Tanzania): Evolutionary relationships and the description of three new species of Rhampholeon (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae). The Herpetological Journal 16 (3): 315-331 - 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
  • Menegon, M., Lyakurwa, J. V., Loader, S. P., & Tolley, K. A. 2022. Cryptic diversity in pygmy chameleons (Chamaeleonidae: Rhampholeon) of the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania, with description of six new species. Acta Herpetologica, 17(2), 85-113 - get paper here
  • Müller, R. & hildenhagen, T. 2009. Untersuchungen zu Subdigital- und Subcaudalstrukturen bei Chamäleons (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae). Sauria 31 (3): 41-54 - get paper here
  • Munduka, E., Ojija, F., & Laizer, H. 2024. Communities’ Knowledge and Perceptions towards the Conservation of Nguru Spiny Pygmy Chameleon (Rampholeon acuminatus) in Nguru Mountains, Tanzania. MUST JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT, 5(4), 6-6 - get paper here
  • REDBOND, JAY; KATY UPTON, ANDY MEEK, TOM WILKINSON & LAUREN LANE. 2021. Captive husbandry and breeding of the Nguru spiny pygmy chameleon Rhampholeon acuminatus. The Herpetological Bulletin (158). - get paper here
  • Rovero, F., Menegon, M., Fjeldså, J., Collett, L., Doggart, N., Leonard, C., Norton, G., Owen, N., Perkin, A., Spitale, D., Ahrends, A., Burgess, N. D. 2014. Targeted vertebrate surveys enhance the faunal importance and improve explanatory models within the Eastern Arc Mountains of Kenya and Tanzania. Diversity and Distributions. doi: 10.1111/ddi.12246 - get paper here
  • Schmidt, W.; Tamm, K. & Wallikewitz, E. 2010. Chamäleons - Drachen unserer Zeit. Natur und Tier Verlag, 328 pp. [review in Reptilia 101: 64, 2013] - get paper here
  • Spawls, Steve; Kim Howell, Harald Hinkel, Michele Menegon 2018. Field Guide to East African Reptiles. Bloomsbury, 624 pp. - get paper here
  • Tilbury, C. 2010. Chameleons of Africa: An Atlas, Including the Chameleons of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt M., 831 pp.
 
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