Böhme’s Two-horned Chamaeleon

About the Böhme’s Two-horned Chamaeleon

Kinyongia boehmei, the Taita blade-horned chameleon, Böhme's two-horned chameleon and Dwarf fischer's chameleon, is species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae, found only in the Taita Hills of southeastern Kenya. It is the smallest species in the East African "two-horned chameleon" group and until 2008 it was generally considered a part of K. tavetana.

Kinyongia boehmei was first scientifically described in 2002, originally as a subspecies of K. tavetana. In 2008, the taxonomy of the "two-horned chameleons" in Kenya and Tanzania was reviewed, which prior to the study only consisted of two recognized species, K. fischeri and K. tavetana. It was shown that boehmei is sufficiently distinct from K. tavetana to be recognized as a separate species, although the two are sister species.

The specific name, boehmei, is in honor of German herpetologist Wolfgang Böhme. K. boehmei is found only in the Taita Hills of southeastern Kenya, at altitudes of 1,000 to 2,200 m (3,300–7,200 ft). It occurs in the canopy of forests, as well as in patches of trees and bushes in subsistence farms. K. boehmei is... Wikipedia →