Malagasy giant chameleon

Malagasy giant chameleon
Male Furcifer oustaleti
Female Furcifer oustaleti in the Anjajavy Forest
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Class:Reptilia
Order:Squamata
Suborder:Iguania
Family:Chamaeleonidae
Genus:Furcifer
Species: F. oustaleti
Binomial name
Furcifer oustaleti
(Mocquard, 1894)

The Malagasy giant chameleon or Oustalets's chameleon (Furcifer oustaleti ) is a very large species of chameleon which is endemic to Madagascar,[2] but also has been introduced near Nairobi in Kenya (though its current status there is unclear).[3]

Habitat

F. oustaleti occurs in a wide range of habitats, even among degraded vegetation within villages, but is relatively rare in primary forest.[2]

Description

With a maximum total length (including tail) of 68.5 cm (27 in), F. oustaleti is considered the largest species of chameleon,[2] but that claim is occasionally contested by the Parsons chameleon Calumma parsonii as the Parsons tends to be more heavily built but slightly shorter in length.

Diet

The diet of F. oustaleti includes invertebrates such as large insects. Prey is acquired with a long, muscular tongue.

Etymology

Furcifer oustaleti walking in the Anjajavy Forest
Oustalet's Chameleon at the Peyrieras Reserve

The generic name, Furcifer, is derived from the Latin root furci meaning "forked" and refers to the shape of the animal's feet.[4]

The specific name, oustaleti, is a Latinized form of the last name of French biologist Jean-Frédéric Émile Oustalet, in whose honor the species is named.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Jenkins RKB, Andreone F, Andriamazava A, Anjeriniaina M, Brady L, Glaw F, Griffiths RA, Rabibisoa N, Rakotomalala D, Randrianantoandro JC, Randrianiriana J, Randrianizahana H, Ratsoavina F, Robsomanitrandrasana E (2011). "Furcifer oustaleti". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN. 2011: e.T172866A6932058. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2011-2.RLTS.T172866A6932058.en. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel (1994). A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar (2nd ed.). Cologne, Germany: M. Vences & F. Glaw Verlags GbR. ISBN 3-929449-01-3.
  3. ↑ Spawls S, Drewes R, Ashe J (2002). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Cologne, Germany: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-656470-1.
  4. ↑ Le Berre, François; Richard D. Bartlett (2009). The Chameleon Handbook. Barron's Educational Series. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7641-4142-3.
  5. ↑ Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Furcifer oustaleti, p. 198).


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