The black-headed dwarf chameleon (Bradypodion melanocephalum ) is a lizard of the family Chamaeleonidae endemic to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is also known as the KwaZulu dwarf chamaeleon and Durban dwarf chameleon.
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 withThis species is generally brownish in colour, but like other chamaeleons, can change colour and pattern to camouflage itself in its surroundings. It has been observed ranging in colour from dark brown, through light brown, olive green, to a pale creamy colour at night. The head is sometimes a darker colour than the rest of the body, but not black. The common name, black-headed dwarf chamaeleon, stems from the first specimen studied where the head had turned black in the preservation process.
This chameleon is found in the coastal areas from north of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal south and west to Mkambati Nature Reserve in the east of the Eastern Cape; it also occurs in some inland areas (KwaZulu-Natal Midlands).
B. melanocephalum inhabits a range of vegetation types such as grasslands, bushlands, thickets, trees, and roadside verges. It can also live in well-vegetated urban gardens.
This reptile feeds on small insects such as crickets and grasshoppers, which it captures in typical chameleon fashion with a long tongue.
It gives birth to live young in summer.
Predators of this animal include the snake boomslang (Dispholidus typus ), shrikes and starlings, and domestic cats.
When threatened, it may open its mouth to reveal the bright yellow-orange interior in an attempt to scare the threat away.
The black-headed dwarf chameleon is vulnerable because of its limited distribution. It is found in a number of small nature reserves within its range, but outside of these areas, it is threatened by habitat destruction, mostly for housing and industrial development. Roads are also a threat in dividing habitats; these animals are not adapted to open areas and move very slowly, making them soft targets for predators and vehicles on open roads. It is sometimes taken as a pet, but this is illegal; no indigenous South African animal may be kept in captivity without a permit.
