Different species? little bit confused lol

[lysinlight87]

Hi,

people are always talking about nosy bes & ambilobes, etc. So these are different species of chameleon? Or are some of these different chameleon breeds or colour variations?
I guess that jacksons and carpet chameleons are different species from veiled, but are there really as many different species as I think?
Thanks!

 

[Olimpia]

Well, Nosy Bes and Ambilobes are different locales of the same species, panther chameleons (F. pardalis) Each color variation is unique to an area of Madagascar, so that is where the names come from. Nosy Be is an island, part of Madagascar, for example.

And there are very many species of chameleons! Close to 200 known to science right now, if I am not mistaken. Not very many of them are available in the pet trade, however.

 

[camaleonte82]

Well, Nosy Bes and Ambilobes are different locales of the same species, panther chameleons (F. pardalis) Each color variation is unique to an area of Madagascar, so that is where the names come from. Nosy Be is an island, part of Madagascar, for example.

And there are very many species of chameleons! Close to 200 known to science right now, if I am not mistaken. Not very many of them are available in the pet trade, however.

which is depressing because some of the ones that are unavailable are SOOOO PRETTY!!!!!

 

[lysinlight87]

ah, thanks. That makes sense.
200 species is amazing, I knew there were a few but that's impressive. I wonder if the evolution is a similar story to Darwins finches, where they evolve to live in different parts of the tree and adapt to eat different food to reduce competition. I know the theory is that speciation is a function of the size of the island they live on- so huge island, less competition & less specialisation, but you get a small island & they all have to adapt. I saw an article recently on Island Dwarfism- this little chameloen on sitting on the tip of a match stick!

 

[blackened]

We just received and watched The chameleons of Madagascar DVD from the bookstore on the forums here.

It shows a great variety of the chameleons found there.