Western pygmy chameleon, Cameroon stumptail chameleon
The spectral pygmy chameleon, western pygmy chameleon, or Cameroon stumptail chameleon (Rhampholeon spectrum ) is one of the so-called "dwarf" or "leaf" chameleons, from mainland Africa.
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 withThey are small, not exceeding 10 cm (4 in), with very short, albeit prehensile, tails. They tend to frequent the ground and low shrubbery in forested areas.
This species is capable of color change, but generally in somber shades of tan to gray. It also has a ventral stripe from the eye to above the base of the tail which, however, is not always displayed in lieu of plain ground colors. It is capable of quite striking coloration in the form of streaks and blotches.
In spite of their small size, plain color, and often terrestrial habits, they are otherwise very much like the larger chameleons in possessing independently rotating eye sockets, opposable digits on the front and back feet, and projectile tongues. Males may be differentiated from females by their wider tail bases.
The exact distribution differs between sources, but includes at least Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon, and may include the Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, and Nigeria.
They are extremely sedentary, and not territorial (unlike other chameleons). They eat small invertebrates. Their reproductive habits are poorly known. These animals seem to prefer cooler temperatures.
