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Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Chamaeleonidae  

Veiled Chameleon
Chamaeleo calyptratus Duméril, 1851

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Native to the southwestern Arabian Peninsula to Yemen. It was introduced via the pet trade and is established in Florida and Hawai'i. In Florida, it was first introduced via the pet trade prior to 2004 in Fort Myers, Lee County (Krysko et al., 2004, Florida Scientist 67: 249–253) but has since been introduced in other areas in the peninsula (Enge and Krysko, 2019, Chamaeleo calyptratus. Pages 357–359 in Krysko et al. (Editors) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida). In Hawai’i, it established during the 2000s; 59 individuals were removed from a 1.5 ha area on Maui (Kraus and Duvall, 2004, Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 79: 63.
Page 74: The Krause and Duvall (2004) reference lacks its closing parenthesis. — (4/9/2025)

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2025.03.31.07.57.24)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.06 MB

Province/State Distribution:

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1851 Dumeril, A. M. Constant and Auguste H. A. Dumeril. Catalogue méthodique de la collection des reptiles du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Paris. [Methodical catalog of the reptile collection of the Natural History Museum of Paris.] Gide et Baudry, Paris, France. 224pp.
2004 Krysko, Kenneth L., Kevin M. Enge, and F. Wayne King. The veiled chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus Duméril and Bibron 1851 (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae): A new exotic species in Florida. Florida Scientist 67:249–253
2004 Kraus, Fred ; Duvall, F. New records of alien reptiles and amphibians in Hawai'i. Bishop Museum Occasional Papers 79:62-64
2006 Meshaka, Walter E. An update on the list of Florida's exotic amphibian and reptile species. Journal of Kansas Herpetology 19:16-17
2012 Gillette, C. R., and Kenneth L. Krysko. New county record for the veiled chameleon, Chamaeleo calyptratus Dumeril and Bibron 1851 (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae), in Florida. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 19:130–131
2014 Edwards, J. R., Michael R. Rochford, F. J. Mazzotti, and Kenneth L. Krysko. New county record for the veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus Duméril and Bibron 1851), in Broward County, Florida, with notes on intentional introductions of chameleons in southern Florida. IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 21:83–85
2019 Krysko, Kenneth L., Kevin M. Enge, and Paul E. Moler (Editor) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 728pp.

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Sunday 27 April 2025 10:48 CT