''Trioceros deremensis'', the Usambara three-horned chameleon or wavy chameleon, 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 ...

to forests in the

Eastern Arc Mountains The Eastern Arc Mountains is a chain of mountains found in Kenya and Tanzania. The chain runs from northeast to southwest, with the Taita Hills being in Kenya and the other ranges being in Tanzania. They are delimited on the southwest by the fau ...

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

Distribution

The Usambara three-horned chameleon is found at an altitude of in the

East Usambara The Usambara Mountains of northeastern Tanzania in tropical East Africa, comprise the easternmost ranges of the Eastern Arc Mountains. The ranges of approximately long and about half that wide, are situated in the Lushoto District of the Tan ...

(there is a single old record from West Usambara but it is doubtful the species occurs there), Uluguru, Nguu,

Nguru Nguru may refer to: * Pila Nguru, an aboriginal people of Australia * Nguru (flute), a small Māori nose flute from New Zealand * Nguru, Nigeria, a town and LGA in Yobe State * Hadejia-Nguru wetlands, northern Nigeria * Nguru Lake, a lake whic ...

, and Udzungwa Mountains, with its range covering about . Each subpopulation is isolated and the species mostly occurs in forests (both the interior and at edges), but also in nearby hedges and plantations.

Description

The Usambara three-horned chameleon has a sail-like ridge on the back and can reach up to in total length. Males grow larger than females. The male has three long horns, which presumably are used in fights between males (like in other horned chameleons). The horns first start to appear when still a juvenile at long. Females do not have horns. It is typically green overall, often with a paler or darker pattern, and may also show some yellow. If irritated, it has black spots that can become quite prominent. It is an

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

species with each clutch consisting of 8–40 eggs. When just hatched, the young, which also can be purplish-whitish in colour, are only long.

Conservation

The Usambara three-horned chameleon is generally common in its range and listed 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 ...

(not threatened) by the

IUCN 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 ...

. It has a restricted distribution, but much of it is within reasonably well-protected reserves. Like most chameleons, the Usambara three-horned chameleon is listed on

CITES CITES (shorter name for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of interna ...

, which means that legal international trade requires a permit. Between 1992 and 2011 a total of 8,437 live individuals were exported from Tanzania for the pet trade, 622 of which were not captured from the wild, but bred or born in captivity. After 2017, Tanzania has not allowed exports of the Usambara three-horned chameleon.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3539417 deremensis Reptiles of Tanzania Endemic fauna of Tanzania Reptiles described in 1892 Taxa named by Paul Matschie