Furcifer labordi

Furcifer labordi
Furcifer labordi
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Lacertilia
Family: Chamaeleonidae
Genus: Furcifer
Species: F. labordi
Binomial name
Furcifer labordi
(Grandidier, 1872)

Labord's chameleon (Furcifer labordi) is a species of chameleon endemic to Madagascar. Like other Furcifer species (F. antimena, F. lateralis), it has obligate year-long lifecycle. It lives for only about 4 to 5 months making it the shortest lifespan ever recorded for a four legged vertebrate.[1],[2] In their natural habitat, eggs hatch with the first rains in November, the growth is rapid, and adulthood is reached by January, at which time they breed. By later February or early March, females have deposited the eggs which will hatch next year, and the entire population dies until the next hatching.

In captivity, eggs of F. labordi have hatched after 4 months of incubation at 26 °C (79 °F). Juveniles grow very rapidly, reaching adulthood after 3 months. Females that were properly fed grew with eggs and a vivid coloration, whereas females that were fed a less caloric diet grew thinner and only showed a green coloration.

Males outlive females in the wild, as many females die soon after the oviposition. Many males live longer by digging burrows in the soil as the ambient air becomes drier. They will sit quiet for months before coming out again with the rains, at the start of the rainy season.

References

  1. ^ A unique life history among tetrapods: An annual chameleon living mostly as an egg
  2. ^ Natural history: Nasty, brutish and short

External Links

[1]

This chameleon article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.