Calumma
Sign in to savethumb|Glaw's chameleon (Calumma glawi) Calumma is a genus of chameleons, highly adapted and specialised lizards, in the family Chamaeleonidae. The genus is endemic to the island of Madagascar. One species, formerly known as Calumma tigris (the Seychelles tiger chameleon), was transferred to the genus Archaius in 2010, upon the discovery of its closer relation to Rieppeleon—one of several genera referred to collectively as "leaf" or "pygmy" chameleons—rather than to Calumma. The earliest known fossil of the genus is of Calumma benovskyi, from early Miocene Kenya, showing that the genus likely o
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- taxon
- Parent taxon
- Chamaeleoninae
- Image
- Calumma Parsonii Ste Marie Madagascar.jpg
Show 3 more facts
- P105
- genus
- P910
- Category:Calumma
- P183
- Madagascar
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Article
8 sectionsContents
- Species groups
- ''[[Calumma furcifer]]'' species group
- ''[[Calumma cucullatum]]'' species group
- ''[[Calumma nasutum]]'' species group
- ''[[Calumma parsonii]]'' species group
- Species
- References
- Further reading
thumb|Glaw's chameleon (Calumma glawi) Calumma is a genus of chameleons, highly adapted and specialised lizards, in the family Chamaeleonidae. The genus is endemic to the island of Madagascar. One species, formerly known as Calumma tigris (the Seychelles tiger chameleon), was transferred to the genus Archaius in 2010, upon the discovery of its closer relation to Rieppeleon—one of several genera referred to collectively as "leaf" or "pygmy" chameleons—rather than to Calumma. The earliest known fossil of the genus is of Calumma benovskyi, from early Miocene Kenya, showing that the genus likely originated on mainland East Africa. The genus includes one of the heaviest and longest chameleon species, the Parson's chameleon (Calumma parsonii). A number of Calumma species are known as Pinocchio chameleons due to their long noses, which often grow and shrink in length.
==Species groups== Four species groups are recognised within the genus Calumma (originally proposed by Glaw & Vences in 1994), some of which may be only phenetic, while others are phylogenetically supported: