Warty chameleon, Spiny chameleon, Crocodile chameleon
Furcifer verrucosus, also known as the warty chameleon, spiny chameleon or crocodile chameleon, is a species of small reptile endemic to Madagascar. It was first described by Georges Cuvier in 1829.
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...
A burrow is a hole or tunnel excavated into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct ...
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 withThe warty chameleon is a large species with males growing to a total length of 56 centimetres (22 in) and females reaching 21 cm (8 in). On its head it has a casque, a helmet-like crest formed from scales. A small crest runs along a raised ridge from its eyes to its snout. There are further low crests running along the flanks, down the throat and along the belly. A distinctive crest of up to forty 4 millimetres (0.16 in) spines runs along the back in males but this is cut short in females, continuing along the spine as tubercles. Both sexes have a row of large scales forming a lateral line. The long tail is prehensile. The general colour of this chameleon is grey or brown variously blotched or indistinctly banded, with a white intermittent streak along each side. Females are usually paler in colour and males are often tinged with green on the belly, tail and limbs.
The warty chameleon is found only on the island of Madagascar including Manderano in the Tulear region. It occurs over much of the west part of the island and in drier parts of the south. It is seldom found in primary rainforest but favours arid disturbed land, including near the sea. It is a terrestrial species and also climbs around in low bushes. In hot weather it sometimes retreats into a sandy burrow to keep cool.
The warty chameleon feeds largely on insects which it catches with its long sticky tongue. The female lays one clutch of 30 to 60 eggs a year and these are incubated for about 200 days. They hatch into juvenile chameleons which may take six months to a year to become mature.
