The black-headed dwarf chameleon (''Bradypodion melanocephalum'') is a lizard of the family Chamaeleonidae endemic to

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is locate ...

, South Africa. It is also known as the KwaZulu dwarf chamaeleon and Durban dwarf chameleon.

Distribution

This chameleon is found in the coastal areas from north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal south and west to

Mkambati Nature Reserve Mkhambathi Nature Reserve (or Mkambati Nature Reserve) is a protected area at Lusikisiki in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is , with the Pondoland Marine Protected Area off its coastal edge. The reserve is located in the Pondoland Centre ...

in the east of the

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

; it also occurs in some inland areas ( KwaZulu-Natal Midlands).

Taxonomy

The current species may consist of several separate species. At least three regional variants are found; one in Karkloof and Gilboa Forests, one in Weza Forest, and one in the area around Ixopo and

Donnybrook Donnybrook may refer to: Places Australia * Donnybrook, Queensland, Australia * Donnybrook, Western Australia * Donnybrook, Victoria, Australia ** Donnybrook railway station, Victoria, Australia Canada * Donnybrook, Ontario, a former village in ...

. ''B. melanocephalum'' and the Natal Midlands dwarf chameleon (''B. thamnobates'') might be phenotypically plastic populations of the same species. However, when juveniles of both species were raised under identical conditions, they developed into what was phenotypically expected of their original populations, indicating that they are separate species.

Description

This species is generally brownish in colour, but like other chamaeleons, can change colour and pattern to camouflage itself in its surroundings. It has been observed ranging in colour from dark brown, through light brown, olive green, to a pale creamy colour at night. The head is sometimes a darker colour than the rest of the body, but not black. The common name, black-headed dwarf chamaeleon, stems from the first specimen studied where the head had turned black in the preservation process.

Habitat

''B. melanocephalum'' inhabits a range of vegetation types such as grasslands, bushlands, thickets, trees, and roadside verges. It can also live in well-vegetated urban gardens.

Behaviour and biology

240px, Catching a grasshopper 240px, Threat display to a human finger This reptile feeds on small insects such as crickets and

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grasshopp ...

s, which it captures in typical

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

fashion with a long tongue. It gives birth to live young in summer. Predators of this animal include the snake

boomslang The boomslang (, , or ; ''Dispholidus typus'') is a large, highly venomous snake in the family Colubridae. Taxonomy and etymology Its common name means "tree snake" in Afrikaans and Dutch – ''boom'' meaning "tree", and ''slang'' meaning "sna ...

(''Dispholidus typus''), shrikes and starlings, and

domestic cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members o ...

s. When threatened, it may open its mouth to reveal the bright yellow-orange interior in an attempt to scare the threat away.

Threats

The black-headed dwarf chameleon is vulnerable because of its limited distribution. It is found in a number of small nature reserves within its range, but outside of these areas, it is threatened by habitat destruction, mostly for housing and industrial development. Roads are also a threat in dividing habitats; these animals are not adapted to open areas and move very slowly, making them soft targets for predators and vehicles on open roads. It is sometimes taken as a pet, but this is illegal; no indigenous South African animal may be kept in captivity without a permit.

References

External links

Search for Distribution of ''Bradypodion melanocephalum''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2923518 Bradypodion Endemic reptiles of South Africa Reptiles described in 1865 Taxa named by John Edward Gray Fauna of South Africa Endemic fauna of South Africa