''Furcifer cephalolepis'' is a species of

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 ...

that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Grande Comore Grande Comore () is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, Comoros, ...

. It was described by Günther in 1880. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

ranked the species as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

on the

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

as there are no signs that this species is in decline. ''Furcifer cephalolepis'' is used in the pet trade, with 8,583 specimens being exported from Grande Comore between 2004 and 2008.

Distribution and habitat

''Furcifer cephalolepis'' is native to

(Ngazidja) in the

Comoros Islands The Comoro Islands or Comoros (Shikomori ''Komori''; ar, جزر القمر , ''Juzur al-qamar''; french: Les Comores) form an archipelago of volcanic islands situated off the southeastern coast of Africa, to the east of Mozambique and northwe ...

. It is believed to cover the whole of Grande Comore (Ngazidja), , although the true coverage of the species is unknown and has not been recorded. It was ranked as

by the

(IUCN) in their

Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

(Red List Data). Despite covering a small area and the fact that it has been used in the pet trade, the species is ranked as Least Concern (LC) because there are no signs that the population of the ''Furcifer cephalolepis'' are currently in decline. The population has been confirmed to be stable. It is found in humid regions around the coast of Grande Comore and in forests in and around towns. Between 1994 and 2003, an estimated 7,150 specimens of this chameleon were exported. Between 2004 and 2008, 8,583 living specimens of ''Furcifer cephalolepis'' were exported to be kept as pets from Grande Comore. The number of individuals of this species sold in the pet market is controlled.

Taxonomy

''Furcifer cephalolepis'' was initially described by Günther in 1880: 237 as ''Chamaeleon cephalolepis''. It was later described under the name of ''Furcifer cephalolepis'' in 1999 by Necas: 210.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3023810 Furcifer Endemic fauna of the Comoros Reptiles of the Comoros Reptiles described in 1880 Taxa named by Albert Günther