Algarve Chameleon

Popular Name: Chameleon.

Scientific name: Chamaeleo chamaeleon

Geographic distribution: Portugal in algarve.

Natural habitat: Its preferred habitats are forests.

Eating habits: It feeds almost exclusively on insects and small vertebrates.

Size: 20-25 cm. Weight: 500 g.

Number of chicks: 9 to 30 eggs.

Average life span: 4 to 5 years.

The name "Chameleon" means "lion of the earth", and is derived from the Greek words Chamai (on earth, on the ground) and leon (lion). It was introduced in the Iberian Peninsula at the end of the century. Nineteenth century, the result of fishermen traveling between the southern peninsular and northern Africa, becoming more abundant in the human communities where insects proliferate. Chameleon is the name given to all animals belonging to the Chamaeleonidae family, one of the best known lizard families. There are about 80 species of chameleons, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa, also present in Portugal and Spain. Chameleons are distinguished from other lizards by the ability of some species to change colour, by their fast, elongated tongue and by their eyes that can be moved independently of each other. The family originated over 100 million years ago, when it separated from the Agamidae family, according to the fossil record.

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Localization

We can find the Algarve Chameleon in the Ria Formosa natural park area in the Algarve in woods, sands and beaches.

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Behaviour

It moves slowly so as not to be noticed before the attack. To catch your prey, use the tongue that has a sticky tip. Can, with great speed, extend the tongue almost a 40 cm. Its sticky-tipped tongue holds the insect and is eaten. Its eyes can be moved independently in any direction and when a chameleon sees prey, it can fix it with one eye and use the other to check for nearby predators. The chameleon's brain receives two separate images, which must be associated with them. As it approaches the prey, the chameleon fixes both eyes on it so that it can aim. The Chameleon is oviparous, laying between 9 to 30 eggs, buried in the sand, near the roots of the worst. During the winter it hibernates in a burrow dug in the sandy soil near a thick root from which it emerges in spring, when the eggs hatch. Chameleons camouflage themselves in the branches and their skin is composed of layers of various pigments, allowing the color variation through the chromatographs (skin cells) depending on the ambient temperature, where they are and mood. When confronted, males represent aggression but, lacking teeth, push themselves.

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Dangers

It is estimated that the Chameleon in Portugal is not in danger, and that there are still a large number of chameleons. But with the abandonment of cats in the Algarve islands has reduced the number of chameleons in those areas. It is forbidden to capture these species.