Furcifer

Furcifer is a genus of chameleons whose member species are mostly endemic to Madagascar, but F. cephalolepis and F. polleni are endemic to the Comoros. Additionally, F. pardalis has been introduced to Réunion, Mauritius and Florida, while F. oustaleti has been introduced to Kenya and Florida.

Taxonomy

The generic name () is derived from the Latin root Template:Wikt-lang meaning "forked" and refers to the shape of the animal's feet.

The genus contains 24 species.

Species

The following species are recognized as being valid.

Image	Scientific name	Common name	Distribution
File:Angel's chameleon (Furcifer angeli).jpg	Furcifer angeli (Brygoo & Domergue, 1968)	Angel's chameleon	northwest Madagascar
File:Furcifer antimena.JPG	Furcifer antimena (Grandidier, 1872)	Antimena chameleon	southwest Madagascar
File:Furcifer balteatus.jpg	Furcifer balteatus (A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1851)	two-banded chameleon	Madagascar
	Furcifer belalandaensis (Brygoo & Domergue, 1970)	Belalanda chameleon	Madagascar.
File:Fork-nosed chameleon (male).jpg	Furcifer bifidus (Brongniart, 1900)	two-horned chameleon	Madagascar
File:Furcifer Campani.jpg	Furcifer campani (Grandidier, 1872)	jewelled chameleon	central highlands of Madagascar
	Furcifer cephalolepis (Günther, 1880)	Comoro Islands chameleon	Grande Comore.
File:FurciferLabordi.jpg	Furcifer labordi (Grandidier, 1872)	Labord's chameleon	Madagascar.
File:Carpet Chameleon (Furcifer lateralis) female (7636716522).jpg	Furcifer lateralis (Gray, 1831)	carpet chameleon	Madagascar.
File:Furcifer major 12893817.jpg	Furcifer major (Brygoo, 1971)	Southern Carpet Chameleon	Tanandava, Madagascar
File:Lesser Chameleon (Furcifer minor) female (captive specimen) (10328597434).jpg	Furcifer minor (Günther, 1879)	lesser chameleon	Central Madagascar.
	Furcifer monoceras (Boettger, 1913)		Madagascar.
File:Nicosia's Chameleon (Furcifer nicosiae), Kirindy Forest, Madagascar.jpg	Furcifer nicosiai Jesu, Mattioli & Schimmenti, 1999		western Madagascar.
File:Oustalet's chameleon (Furcifer oustaleti) male Anja Community Reserve.jpg	Furcifer oustaleti (Mocquard, 1894)	Malagasy giant chameleon	Madagascar
File:Panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) male Nosy Be.jpg	Furcifer pardalis (Cuvier, 1829)	panther chameleon	eastern and northern parts of Madagascar
File:Petter's chameleon (Furcifer petteri) male Montagne d’Ambre.jpg	Furcifer petteri (Brygoo & Domergue, 1966)	Petter's chameleon	northern Madagascar
File:Cameleondemayotte.JPG	Furcifer polleni (W. Peters, 1874)	Mayotte chameleon	Mayotte.
File:Rhinoceros Chameleon. Furcifer rhinoceratus - Flickr - gailhampshire.jpg	Furcifer rhinoceratus (Gray, 1845)	rhinoceros chameleon	dry forests in Madagascar.
	Furcifer timoni Glaw, Köhler & Vences, 2009	Timon's chameleon	Madagascar.
	Furcifer tuzetae (Brygoo, Bourgat & Domergue, 1972)	Ambiky chameleon	Madagascar.
File:Warty chameleon (Furcifer verrucosus) male Arboretum d'Antsokay.jpg	Furcifer verrucosus (Cuvier, 1829)	warty chameleon	Madagascar.
File:Furcifer viridis 22759159.jpg	Furcifer viridis Florio et al., 2012	green chameleon	northwest Madagascar, from the central highlands and Maevatanana to Ambanja
	Furcifer voeltzkowi (Boettger, 1893)	Voeltzkow's chameleon	Madagascar.
File:Canopy Chameleon (Furcifer willsii) (9648245322).jpg	Furcifer willsii (Günther, 1890)	canopy chameleon	eastern Madagascar

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Furcifer.

Further reading

• Fitzinger L. 1843. Systema Reptilium, Fasciculus Primus, Amblyglossae. Vienna: Braumüller & Seidel. 106 pp. + indices. (Furcifer, new genus, p. 42). (in Latin).
• Glaw, Frank; Vences, Miguel. [in Deutsch] (1994). A Field Guide to Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, 2nd edition. Köln: M. Vences & F. Glaw Verlags GbR. ISBN 3-929449-01-3.
• Spawls S; Drewes R; Ashe J. (2002). A Field Guide to the Reptiles of East Africa. Köln: Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-656470-1.
• Anderson CV. (2006). Captive Chameleon Populations. Accessed 23-01-2009