Reason behind the name.

[Lizardlover]

i just made a mini discovery, if you already knew this please dont ruin it for me, well Furcifur means forked in latin or greek or something, I was wondering.....why forked?? Then i noticed something shocking between my two furcifurs (panther and oustalet) they can make their tongue come out forked, ive never seen my veild or any of my past chams do that, THAT IS AWESOME! just wanted to share incase any of you were also wondering

 

[panthercham]

Thanks for sharing that cos I didn't know that so I learnt something new too!

I knew Panthers do have the forked tongue as I see it when mine taste their branches etc but I didn't know it originated from there.....I think its very cool

 

[Chris Anderson]

I believe the etymology has to do with the prevalence of dual rostral processes in this genus. Many of the species in this genus have bony rostal processes protruding off the rostral ridge/crest in a somewhat forked fashion. Even panther chameleons technically have a dual rostral process even though in many specimens it appears more like a single, shovel-like protuberance. There is also a Calumma furcifer which has a single rostal horn that bifurcates at the tip.

Chris

 

[Lizardlover]

yeah i know that i was going to mention it about the calumma furcifur, but oustalets dont have the bony rostral process? but i guess you would know.

 

[Chris Anderson]

Yes, F. oustaleti, F. verrucosus, F. lateralis, F. campani and F. nicosaiai do not have a rostal process. All the other members of this genus (3/4 of the genus) do, however.

Chris