The Robertson dwarf chameleon, also known as the Little Karoo dwarf chameleon, (''Bradypodion gutturale'') is a

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 ...

in the genus ''

Bradypodion ''Bradypodion'' (meaning "slow-footed" in Greek) is one of six genera of chameleons within the "true" or "typical" chameleons (Family Chamaeleonidae). They are native to southern Africa, and are sometimes collectively called South African dwar ...

''. It is found in the dry

Fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

and

Renosterveld Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region (Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa. It is an ecoregion ...

shrub vegetation, in the centre of the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

Description

A medium-sized dwarf chameleon, with a relatively robust build and a long prehensile tail, it can grow up to 15 cm in length. It is generally grey-olive in colour, but individuals have been found that vary.

Natural range

This species occurs in the

Little Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

, and the surrounding mountain ranges, within the

. It is recorded as far west as the border of the Cederberg mountains, and as far east as Uniondale. In the south it occurs near the coast in the area of Robertson and on the Agulhas plain.

Habitat

It prefers the

fynbos Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean clim ...

vegetation, unlike some other species of dwarf chameleons that are forest-dwellers. It is particularly adapted to dry fynbos,

renosterveld Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region (Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa. It is an ecoregion ...

and is even found in the transition zones to arid succulent

Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its ext ...

vegetation. DNA evidence suggests the Robertson chameleon may have diverged from the forest-dwellers several million years ago, coinciding with the retreat of the forests and the spread of dry fynbos.

Sources

* Tolley K. and Burger M. 2007. ''Chameleons of Southern Africa''. Struik, Cape Town * Tolley, K.A. et al. 2006. Biogeographic patterns and phylogeography of dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion) in an African biodiversity hotspot. ''Molecular Ecology'' 15:781-793.
The Dwarf Chameleon Project at Wildcliff Nature Reserve

External links

Search for distribution of ''Bradypodion gutturale''
Bradypodion Reptiles of South Africa Reptiles described in 1849 Taxa named by Andrew Smith (zoologist) {{chameleon-stub