Panther chameleon

Name and taxonomy

Georges Cuvier described the species in 1829. The genus name Furcifer comes from the Latin furci, forked, and refers to the split feet. The species name pardalis means leopard in Latin and points to the spotted markings. The word chameleon comes from the Greek khamaileon, ground lion, which itself translates an Akkadian phrase with the same meaning.

The panther chameleon belongs to the family Chamaeleonidae and the order Squamata, which holds all lizards and snakes. It is treated as one species with many colour forms, called locales after the places where they occur. Genetic work and captive breeding suggest that it may in fact be several species. Polish speakers call it kameleon lamparci, the leopard chameleon.

Evolution and relatives

Chameleons belong to the Iguania, the group of lizards that also holds iguanas and agamas. Wikidata places the genus Furcifer within the subfamily Chamaeleoninae, the typical chameleons. Madagascar is the centre of chameleon diversity, and the genus Furcifer is thought to have evolved there. Like all chameleons, the panther chameleon carries the group's shared toolkit: split feet, a prehensile tail, turret eyes and a projectile tongue.

The panther chameleon is one of the largest members of its genus, and it breeds readily in captivity. Its many locales probably represent populations cut off from each other by rivers and by patches of unsuitable forest. If those populations prove to be separate species, the panther chameleon will probably become a species complex like the king cobra.

Appearance

A panther chameleon measures 40 to 51 centimetres from nose to tail tip. Animal Diversity Web gives an adult body length of 23 cm without the tail. Males are far larger and heavier than females, and they show a swollen tail base that houses the paired hemipenes. Females are smaller, with a thin tail base, and eggs can sometimes be seen through the body wall. Juveniles under six months are dull and hard to sex.

Colour depends on the locale. Males from Nosy Be, Ankify and Ambanja are a vivid blue or blue-green. Males from Ambilobe, Sambava and Antsiranana come in red, green or orange, and those from Maroantsetra and Tamatave are mostly red. Northwest coast males are bright pink, with a pale yellow stripe down each side, and keepers call them pink panthers. Females are tan, brown or pale green with touches of pink, peach or orange, whatever their origin.

Each foot has five toes fused into two bundles, one of two toes and one of three. On the front feet the group of three sits on the inside, and on the hind feet the arrangement is reversed. This tong-like grip holds narrow branches, and a sharp claw on each toe bites into bark. The eyes sit in domed turrets on either side of the head and swivel independently. The tail coils and grips like a fifth limb.

Habitat and range

The panther chameleon is native to Madagascar and is common in the lowlands of the east, northeast, north and northwest coasts. It lives in rainforest in the east and in drier, broken forest and savanna in the northwest. It favours open, sunlit spots such as thin belts of trees along rivers and roads, where it can bask and males can display. Males use higher perches than females, probably to hold a territory.

The original forest across much of its range has been cut or degraded, but the chameleon does well in disturbed land. It is often found near roads, houses and plantations. A territory is usually a single tree or shrub. Males roam over larger home ranges, and females stay in a small area.

People have introduced the species to Réunion and Mauritius in the Indian Ocean and, more recently, to Florida through the pet trade. A released animal was photographed in the Singapore Botanic Gardens in 2006. GBIF holds records from 16 countries, most of them escaped or released pets. iNaturalist holds 2,675 observations of the species.

Diet and feeding

The panther chameleon eats insects and other invertebrates that live on the ground and in the trees. Crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches and moths are typical prey. It very rarely takes plant matter. It hunts by sight and waits for prey to come within range of its tongue.

The tongue rests folded on the hyoid bone in the throat. Ring muscles fire it out of the mouth, and it can reach further than the length of the lizard's own body. The whole strike takes about 20 milliseconds. A 2000 study showed that the tongue pad works by suction as well as by sticky adhesion. The prey is pulled back into the mouth and crushed by the strong jaws.

Before the strike, one eye finds the prey and then the head turns so both eyes can fix on it. With both eyes forward the chameleon gains stereoscopic vision and can judge the distance exactly. Captive animals need insects dusted with calcium and exposure to UVB light, or their bones and eggs fail.

Behaviour and social life

The panther chameleon is solitary and territorial at every age and in both sexes. It spends nearly all its life alone and meets others only to mate. It is active by day, because its eyes lack the rods and pigments needed to see at night. It moves slowly and often freezes for long periods, and when it walks it sways like a leaf in the wind.

When two males meet, each brightens its colours and puffs up its body. Most contests end there, and the loser turns drab and dark and retreats. If neither backs down, the males fight, and an intruder can be badly hurt. Hostility rises in the breeding season.

The chameleon controls its body heat by basking or moving into shade. It tolerates a wide range and lets its temperature drift between 24 and 36 degrees Celsius during the day. A female can sense when she is short of vitamin D and moves into sunlight to make more. When she has enough, she avoids strong UV.

Communication and senses

Colour is the chameleon's language. A male turns brighter to court a female and to challenge a rival, and a beaten male turns dark. A female signals whether she will mate by her colour. Once gravid, she turns dark brown or black with orange bars to tell males to stay away. Courtship also involves head bobbing and a jerky, halting walk towards the female.

Each eye turns on its own, which gives the lizard a view all round its body while it stays still. The web notes put the field of view at about 342 degrees. The eyes contain no rods, so the chameleon is blind at night. It has no outer or middle ear, and it may be deaf. It also lacks the vomeronasal organ that most lizards use to smell.

Reproduction and life cycle

Breeding runs from January to May in most places, and some females breed several times a year. Males roam in search of females, and the mating system looks like serial polygyny. A male approaches with bright colours and bobbing head. An unwilling female flees or faces him with an open mouth, hisses, rears up on her hind legs and rocks from side to side. A willing female lets the male grip her flanks and mate, for minutes or for hours.

After mating the male may stay in the female's territory for a while to keep other males off. The female carries the eggs for 3 to 6 weeks. She digs a burrow with her front feet, backs in and lays 10 to 40 eggs, sometimes up to 46. She fills the tunnel, stamps the soil flat and may drag leaves and twigs over the spot. That is her last act as a mother.

The eggs take 6 to 12 months to hatch, typically about 240 days. A hatchling cuts a star-shaped slit in the shell with an egg tooth, which later falls off. It weighs 0.25 to 0.75 grams and is independent from the first minute. Young reach adult colour and breeding age at six to seven months. A female lays five to eight clutches in her life and lives two to three years after her first, worn out by egg laying. Wild animals live 1 to 3 years, and the AnAge captive record is 5.2 years.

Predators and threats

No detailed study of predation on this species exists. Birds and snakes are the main predators of chameleons in general. The chameleon's defences are stillness, a slow swaying walk and colours that blend with leaves and bark. Hatchlings, being tiny, probably fall to a wider range of predators, including large insects and spiders.

The chief threat from people is the loss and degradation of Madagascar's forests. Collection for the pet trade was heavy. From 1977 to 2001 the species made up almost eight percent of all chameleons exported to the United States. Trade quotas are now stricter, and exports have fallen to a level the population can sustain. Because it thrives in disturbed land, the species is in less danger than many other Madagascan reptiles.

Population and conservation

The IUCN Red List rates the panther chameleon as Least Concern. It has a wide range in the lowlands of Madagascar and copes with farmland, roadsides and plantations. No population count exists, but the species is described as locally abundant along the northern and eastern coasts.

Madagascar sets export quotas for the pet trade, and the species breeds so well in captivity that most pets are now captive-bred. The bigger question is taxonomy. If the locales prove to be separate species, some of them may have small ranges and need protection of their own. Introduced populations on Réunion, Mauritius and in Florida are probably too small to harm native wildlife, though no one has measured their effect.

Relationship with humans

The panther chameleon is harmless to people. Local people in Madagascar make little use of it, and it is rarely eaten. Its value lies in the international pet trade, where the United States, Europe and Asia are the main buyers. Colour, size and easy breeding make it one of the most wanted chameleons.

It is easier to keep than most chameleons, but it is still a demanding pet. It needs live insects, a tall planted enclosure, UVB light and careful humidity. With good care a captive female lives up to 3 years and a male 5 to 7 years. A study found that females given more UVB hatch more of their eggs. Escaped or released pets have founded the colonies on Réunion, Mauritius and Florida.

In culture and myth

Malagasy legend says that one eye of the chameleon looks into the future and the other into the past. In some regions of Madagascar a traditional fady, or taboo, forbids harming a chameleon. The slow, careful walk of the chameleon probably made it a symbol of patience and caution in Malagasy proverbs.

Beyond Madagascar the panther chameleon is probably the best-known face of colour change in books, films and advertising. The popular idea that it changes colour to match any background is wrong: colour follows mood, heat and social signals. Keepers have built a culture of their own around the locales. A blue Nosy Be male or a red Ambilobe male is prized like a breed.