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Rhampholeon viridis MARIAUX & TILBURY, 2006

IUCN Red List - Rhampholeon viridis - Endangered, EN
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Higher TaxaChamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Green pygmy chameleon 
SynonymRhampholeon (Rhampholeon) viridis MARIAUX & TILBURY 2006
Rhampholeon (Rhampholeon) viridis — GLAW 2015
Rhampholeon viridis — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 25
Rhampholeon viridis — SPAWLS et al. 2018: 256 
DistributionTanzania (South Pare mountains)

Type locality: Tanga region, South Pare mountains, from a patch of forest next to the Hingili stream, just north of the Shengena Mountain FR [4°14' 50" S, 37°59'28" E], 1450 m elevation.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: NMZB 16905 (field tag CT 119), male; allotype NMZB 16906 (CT 120), female, 4 July 2001. Collected by Colin and Douglas Tilbury. 
DiagnosisDiagnosis (Fig. 7). Chamaeleonidae, Rhampholeon (Rhampholeon). With the characters of the subgenus. A small chameleon (maximum TL 89 mm) with a tail 34-46% of TL in males and 33-34% in females. Low casque. Small rostral process represented by a bulge barely projecting over the front of the snout, barely visible in males, somewhat larger in females. Temporal crest is distinct. Dorsal keel variable in outline from almost smooth to strongly crenulated. Hemipenis with
prominent calyces on the truncus and broad paired apical horns arising from mucosal folds bearing up to nine papillae typically alternating rounded and sharp papillae on the outer edge of the horn. Axillary pits and inguinal pits present, the latter less distinct. Claws simple. There may be one or two slightly enlarged accessory plantar tubercles present at the base of the claws. Soles of feet smooth/cobblestoned as opposed to spinous. The male hemipenis is distinct from other species of Rhampholeon. The specimens from North Pare bear typical reddish patches. 
Comment 
EtymologyThe specific name derives from Latin viridis (green) and refers to the rich green colour of the males. 
References
  • 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
  • GOSTNER, Alexander 2009. Zur Haltung und Nachzucht von Rhampholeon (Rhampholeon) viridis. Chamaeleo 19 (1): 37 - 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
  • 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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