Rieppeleon
Rieppeleon is a genus of small, typically brown chameleons found in forests and savannas in central East Africa (extending slightly into adjacent DR Congo). They are found at low levels in bushes, or on the ground among grass or leaf litter.[1]
| Rieppeleon | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male R. brevicaudatus | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Chamaeleonidae |
| Subfamily: | Chamaeleoninae |
| Genus: | Rieppeleon Matthee, Tilbury & Townsend, 2004 |
Etymology
The genus Rieppeleon was named after Swiss-born American herpetologist Olivier Rieppel (born 1951).[2][3]
The specific name, kerstenii, is in honor of German chemist and geographer Otto Kersten (1839–1900).[3]
The subspecific name, robecchii, is in honor of Italian geologist and explorer Luigi Robecchi Bricchetti (1855–1926).[3]
Taxonomy
Until recently, the species in the genus Rieppeleon were commonly included in the genus Rhampholeon instead.
Species and subspecies
The following species and subspecies are recognized as being valid.[4]
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rieppeleon brachyurus (Günther, 1893) | beardless pygmy chameleon | Malawi, Mozambique, and southeastern Tanzania. | |
 | Rieppeleon brevicaudatus (Matschie, 1892) | bearded pygmy chameleon | eastern Usambara and Uluguru Mountains in northeastern Tanzania and Kenya |
 | Rieppeleon kerstenii (W. Peters, 1868) | Kenya pygmy chameleon | eastern Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and northeastern Tanzania |
Nota bene: A binomial authority, or trinomial authority, in parentheses indicates that the species, or subspecies, was originally described in a genus other than Rieppeleon.
References
- Spawls, S.; Drewes, R.; Ashe, J. (2002). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Köln: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-656470-1.
- Mattison, Chris; Garbutt, Nick (2012). Chameleons. United States: Firefly Books Inc. p. 92. ISBN 978-1-77085-121-4.
- Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Genus Rieppeleon, p. 221; Rieppeleon kerstenii, p. 140; Rhampholeon robecchii, p. 223).
- "Rieppeleon ". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.
Further reading
- Matthee CA, Tilbury CR, Townsend T (2004). "A phylogenetic review of the African leaf chameleons: genus Rhampholeon (Chamaeleonidae): the role of vicariance and climate change in speciation". Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 271 (1551): 1967–75. doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2806. PMC 1691807. PMID 15347522. (Rieppeleon, new genus, p. 1673).