Marshall's leaf chameleon, Marshall's dwarf chameleon, Marshall's stumptail chameleon
Marshall's pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon marshalli ), also called Marshall's leaf chameleon, Marshall's dwarf chameleon, or Marshall's stumptail chameleon, is a species of chameleon found in the forests of Zimbabwe and Mozambique in Africa. It grows from 3.5 to 7.5 cm (1.4 to 3.0 in) and feeds on insects. When standing still, it resembles a leaf on a branch.
The specific name, marshalli, is in honor of British entomologist Guy Anstruther Knox Marshall, who collected the holotype.
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...
Brumation is a lethargic state that some ectothermic animals, such as many reptiles, assume during cold conditions. Reptiles generally begin brumat...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withMarshall's leaf chameleon is unmistakable. It is the only such tiny chameleon in its range (sympatric with Chamaeleo dilepis quilensis, the flap-necked chameleon to a degree). This is a tiny species of 3.2–7.5 cm (1.3–3.0 in), females being slightly larger. Isolated populations have distinct size variations; for example, those found just to the north of Mutare appear to be larger than those just to the south (separated by deep valleys). It has a dorsoventrally flattened head and body with prominent ribs and apparent venation, giving it the appearance of a leaf. Its colour variations are from deep brown to yellowish green according to the camouflage required for the situation. Males are usually more brightly coloured.
This species is found largely in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and the adjacent upland forest of Mozambique.
The patches of relict montane forest found in the Nyanga, Bvumba, Himalaya and Chimanimani Mountains are the primary habitats. They can be found in the cool, damp interior of the forest, mostly in the undercanopy and on the forest margins. These forest patches are surrounded by vast expanses of montane grassland, but are often so far apart as to be isolated from one another, but forest along the numerous mountain streams may link these very limited habitats. Marked specimens surveyed over a long time appeared not to travel far at all, usually less than 15 m.
Males, being slightly smaller, having a distinct penial swelling at the base of the tail, and a greener throat with a row of defining white or yellow tubercle spots, are relatively easy to distinguish from females.
In the rains (November to March), Marshall's leaf chameleon lays a small clutch of embryonated eggs that hatch quickly. Humphreys photographed a gravid female excavating a hole in the forest soil and laying a clutch. One egg was exhumed and found to contain a fully developed embryo. After 35 days, the eggs hatched and the tiny juveniles dispersed. Juveniles are relatively large at 22–25 mm (0.87–0.98 in) long.
Like other small mountain chameleons, this species appears to have population spikes and collapses. Their ranges do not appear to be threatened and much of their habitat is safe in Zimbabwe in the Nyanga National Park (where introduced tree species of wattle and pine are being eradicated to allow natural forest to re-emerge), Stapleford Forest Reserve, Bunga National Park and Botanical Garden, the Chimanimani National Park, and the Chirinda Forest Reserve. However, the tiny relic cloud forest patches are under constant threat from excessive collection of firewood and clearance for coffee, tea and protea plantations. Also, the corridors that once connected populations have indubitably diminished.
