The Angel's chameleon (Furcifer angeli), initially described as Chamaeleo angeli, is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar, and was originally described by Édouard-Raoul Brygoo and Charles Antoine Domergue in 1968.
The specific name, angeli, is in honour of French herpetologist Fernand Angel.
Diurnal animals are active during the daytime, with a period of sleeping or other inactivity at night. The timing of activity by an animal depends ...
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
Ambush predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey by stealth, luring, or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an elemen...
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starts withF. angeli looks like a "drably coloured" version of Furcifer pardalis (the panther chameleon). It often has a white stripe down each side and can be distinguished from the otherwise similar Furcifer lateralis by the presence of a spike at the front of its head.
Furcifer angeli is endemic to Madagascar, and can be found in dry forest at the northwest of the country. It has been found in Bongolava, and between Anjiamangirana I and Tsingy de Namoroka Strict Nature Reserve (Namoroka National Park or Parc National de Namoroka).It has also been reported to occur at Ambohibola and on the coast near Antsanitia in Mahajanga province. It has been found at between 40 and 300 metres (130 and 980 feet) above sea level. It lives in trees in dry forests and is diurnal.
F. angeli is listed as being of Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This is because it has a wide range, estimated to cover an area of 31,506 square kilometres (12,165 square miles). Although the natural habitat of this species is virgin forest, it also occurs close to roads and human habitations. The population size is unknown but is believed to be stable. The main threat to this chameleon is the destruction of forest, including illegal logging, slash-and-burn, but also wildfires.
