Black-headed dwarf chameleon | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Family: | Chamaeleonidae |
Genus: | Bradypodion |
Species: | B. melanocephalum |
Binomial name | |
Bradypodion melanocephalum (Gray, 1865) |
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.
This chameleon is found in the coastal areas (mostly around Durban) and parts of the Midlands of southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
The current species may consist of several separate species. At least three regional variants are found; one in Karkloof and Gilboa Forests, one in Weza Forest, and one in the area around Ixopo and Donnybrook.
B. melanocephalum and the Natal Midlands dwarf chameleon (B. thamnobates) may be phenotypically plastic populations of the same species, but juveniles of both species were raised under identical conditions and developed into what was phenotypically expected of their original populations, indicating they are separate species.
This 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.
Thickets of finely branched shrubs, tall herbaceous plants, and tall grasses in undisturbed grasslands seem to be favoured. The wild date palm Phoenix reclinata is also a favoured microhabitat.