Furcifer angeli: Angel's Chameleon

Angel's Chameleon - Furcifer angeli
( Brygoo & Domergue, 1968 )


Subspecies:	Unknown
Est. World Population:

CITES Status:
IUCN Status:	Least Concern
U.S. ESA Status:	Not Listed

Body Length:
Tail Length:
Shoulder Height:
Weight:

Top Speed:
Jumping Ability:	(Horizontal)

Life Span:	in the Wild
Life Span:	in Captivity

Sexual Maturity:	(Females)
Sexual Maturity:	(Males)
Litter Size:
Gestation Period:

Habitat:

The species occurs in lowland dry deciduous forest. In Parc National d'Ankarafantsika Angel's chameleon was found in degraded deciduous forest (Ramanamanjato and Rabibisoa 2002), along road roadsides and close to villages. Raselimanana (2008) reports that this diurnal lizard lives in trees and has a close association with dry forest. This species is sexually dimorphic, with males being both longer and heavier than females (Carpenter 2003). This species is often found in the same areas of forest as Oustalet's Chameleon (F. oustaleti) (Carpenter 2003).

Range:

This species is endemic to Madagascar where it is restricted to areas of dry forest in the northwest of the island (Glaw and Vences 2007). It is known from four localities between Anjiamangirana in the north and Parc National de Namoroka to the south (Raselimanana 2008). It has also been recorded from Bongolava (Randrianantoandro et al. 2010). There is a record from the coast (Antsanitia) and from Ambohibola further inland (C. Raxworthy pers. comm. January 2011). The lizard has been recorded at elevations from 40 to 300 m, and has an estimated extent of occurrence of 31,506 km².

Conservation:

This species is known from Parc National d'Ankarafantsika (Ramanamanjato and Rabibisoa 2002), Parc National Baie de Baly (Carpenter 2003), Parc National de Namoroka (Raselimanana 2008) and Bongolava New Protected Area (Randrianantoandro et al. 2010). It is listed as a protected species under Category I, Class II, of Malagasy law which permits authorized collection from the wild outside of strict protected areas (but imports from Madagascar are currently suspended by CITES). Like many Furcifer species it uses dry areas of open forest vegetation, and research is needed to determine whether it is a forest specialist or whether it can survive in more heavily degraded areas of vegetation, as well as to identify population trends.