Rhampholeon (from Ancient Greek ῥάμφος (rhámphos), meaning "bill", and λέων (léōn), meaning "lion") is a genus of small chameleons, commonly known as pygmy chameleons or African leaf chameleons, found in East Africa and Central Africa. They are found in forests, woodlands, thickets, and savanna, and most species are restricted to highlands. They are brown, grey, or green, and typically seen at low levels in bushes, or on the ground among grasses or leaf litter.
Species The following 25 species are recognized as being valid:"Rhampholeon ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
Image Scientific name Common name Distribution Rhampholeon acuminatus Nguru pygmy chameleon Tanzania. Rhampholeon beraduccii Beraducci’s pygmy chameleon, Mahenge pygmy chameleon Tanzania. Rhampholeon boulengeri Boulenger's pygmy chameleon Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda Rhampholeon bruessoworum Mount Inago pygmy chameleon Mozambique Rhampholeon chapmanorum Chapmans's pygmy chameleon Malawi. Rhampholeon colemani Tanzania. Rhampholeon gorongosae Mount Gorongosa pygmy chameleon Mozambique. Rhampholeon hattinghi Democratic Republic of the Congo.Rhampholeon marshalli Marshall's pygmy chameleon, Marshall's leaf chameleon, Marshall's dwarf chameleon, Marshall's stumptail chameleon Zimbabwe and Mozambique Rhampholeon maspictus Mount Mabu pygmy chameleon MozambiqueRhampholeon moyeri Moyer’s pygmy chameleon, Udzungwa pygmy chameleon Tanzania. Rhampholeon nchisiensis South African stumptail chameleon, Nchisi pygmy chameleon Malawi and Tanzania Rhampholeon nebulauctor Mount Chiperone pygmy chameleon Mozambique. Rhampholeon nicolai Nicola’s pygmy chameleon Tanzania. Rhampholeon platyceps Mount Mulanje pygmy chameleon, Malawi stumptail chameleon Malawi and Mozambique Rhampholeon princeeai Princeeai’s pygmy chameleon Tanzania. Rhampholeon rubeho Rubeho’s pygmy chameleon Tanzania. Rhampholeon sabini Nguu North pygmy chameleon Tanzania.Rhampholeon spectrum spectral pygmy chameleon, western pygmy chameleon, Cameroon stumptail chameleon Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Central African Republic, the Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, and Gabon,Rhampholeon spinosus rosette-nosed pygmy chameleon TanzaniaRhampholeon temporalis Usambara stumptail chameleon, East Usambara pygmy chameleon Tanzania.Rhampholeon tilburyi Mount Namuli pygmy chameleon Mozambique. Rhampholeon uluguruensis Uluguru pygmy chameleon Tanzania. Rhampholeon viridis green pygmy chameleon Tanzania. Rhampholeon waynelotteri Tanzania.
Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Rhampholeon.
References
Further reading Boulenger GA (1887). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume III. ... Chamæleontidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xii + 575 pp. + Plates I-XL. (Genus Rhampholeon, p. 475). Branch WR (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Genus Rhampholeon, p. 228).
Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology: Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. . (Genus Rhampholeon, p. 289). Günther A (1874). "Descriptions of some new or imperfectly known Species of Reptiles from the Camaroon [sic] Mountains". Proc. Zool. Soc. London 1874: 442-445. (Rhampholeon, new genus, p. 444).