Can anyone tell me what these are?
- Thread starter Alb123
- Start date
Chris Anderson
Dr. House of Chameleons
Hi Alb,
The second animal is a stereotypical example of Trioceros sternfeldi. The first individual is less typical, but definitely not T. nyirit or T. hoehnelii based on the photos you presented here and in the T. nyirit thread (https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/new-species-trioceros-nyirit.65723/#post-1230680). Most of the features of this individual are very characteristic of T. sternfeldi as well, however the rostrum and casque are almost Trioceros jacksonii merumontanus like. There have been reports of T. sternfeldi x T. j. merumontanus hybrids occurring naturally in the wild. While its not impossible that this individual is an example of the aforementioned cross, I'm more inclined to say based on the weight of evidence that this is simply an aberrant example of T. sternfeldi that is exhibiting what appears to be a precursor to a rostral horn, causing the observed enlargement. It is not unheard of for such variation to be found within species. At one point there were photos posted here on the forums of a CB F. pardalis that developed an even more strongly formed rostral horn. Definitely an unusual individual though!
Chris
The second animal is a stereotypical example of Trioceros sternfeldi. The first individual is less typical, but definitely not T. nyirit or T. hoehnelii based on the photos you presented here and in the T. nyirit thread (https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/new-species-trioceros-nyirit.65723/#post-1230680). Most of the features of this individual are very characteristic of T. sternfeldi as well, however the rostrum and casque are almost Trioceros jacksonii merumontanus like. There have been reports of T. sternfeldi x T. j. merumontanus hybrids occurring naturally in the wild. While its not impossible that this individual is an example of the aforementioned cross, I'm more inclined to say based on the weight of evidence that this is simply an aberrant example of T. sternfeldi that is exhibiting what appears to be a precursor to a rostral horn, causing the observed enlargement. It is not unheard of for such variation to be found within species. At one point there were photos posted here on the forums of a CB F. pardalis that developed an even more strongly formed rostral horn. Definitely an unusual individual though!
Chris
