Furcifer

Furcifer is a genus of chameleons whose member species are mostly endemic to Madagascar, but F. cephalolepis and F. polleni are endemic to the Comoros. Additionally, F. pardalis has been introduced to Réunion, Mauritius and Florida, while F. oustaleti has been introduced to Kenya and Florida.

Taxonomy

The generic name (Template:Lang) is derived from the Latin root Template:Wikt-lang meaning "forked" and refers to the shape of the animal's feet.<ref name= Furcifer>Template:Cite book</ref>

The genus contains 24 species.<ref name=glaw>Glaw F et al. (2009). A distinctive new species of chameleon of the genus Furcifer (Squamata: Chameleonidae) from the Montagne d'Ambre rainforest of northern Madagascar. Zootaxa 2269: 32-42.</ref>

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid.<ref>"Furcifer ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.</ref>

Image	Scientific name	Common name	Distribution
	Furcifer angeli Template:Small	Angel's chameleon	northwest Madagascar
	Furcifer antimena Template:Small	Antimena chameleon	southwest Madagascar
	Furcifer balteatus Template:Small	two-banded chameleon	Madagascar
	Furcifer belalandaensis Template:Small	Belalanda chameleon	Madagascar.
	Furcifer bifidus Template:Small	two-horned chameleon	Madagascar
	Furcifer campani Template:Small	jewelled chameleon	central highlands of Madagascar
	Furcifer cephalolepis Template:Small	Comoro Islands chameleon	Grande Comore.
	Furcifer labordi Template:Small	Labord's chameleon	Madagascar.
	Furcifer lateralis Template:Small	carpet chameleon	Madagascar.
	Furcifer major Template:Small	Southern Carpet Chameleon	Tanandava, Madagascar
	Furcifer minor Template:Small	lesser chameleon	Central Madagascar.
	Furcifer monoceras (Boettger, 1913)		Madagascar.
	Furcifer nicosiai Template:Small		western Madagascar.
	Furcifer oustaleti Template:Small	Malagasy giant chameleon	Madagascar
	Furcifer pardalis Template:Small	panther chameleon	eastern and northern parts of Madagascar
	Furcifer petteri Template:Small	Petter's chameleon	northern Madagascar
	Furcifer polleni Template:Small	Mayotte chameleon	Mayotte.
	Furcifer rhinoceratus Template:Small	rhinoceros chameleon	dry forests in Madagascar.
	Furcifer timoni Template:Small<ref name=glaw/>	Timon's chameleon	Madagascar.
	Furcifer tuzetae Template:Small	Ambiky chameleon	Madagascar.
	Furcifer verrucosus Template:Small	warty chameleon	Madagascar.
	Furcifer viridis Template:Small	green chameleon	northwest Madagascar, from the central highlands and Maevatanana to Ambanja
	Furcifer voeltzkowi (Boettger, 1893)	Voeltzkow's chameleon	Madagascar.
	Furcifer willsii Template:Small	canopy chameleon	eastern Madagascar

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Furcifer.

Further reading

• Fitzinger L. 1843. Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (Furcifer, new genus, p. 42). (in Latin).
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Anderson CV. (2006). Captive Chameleon Populations. Accessed 23-01-2009