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Calumma

Genus of lizards

Wikipedia contributorsAdapted for Fathomly · View authors
4 min read
Source updated August 16, 2026
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Calumma is a genus of chameleons, highly adapted and specialised lizards, in the family Chamaeleonidae. The genus is endemic to the island of Madagascar. One species, formerly known as Calumma tigris (the Seychelles tiger chameleon), was transferred to the genus Archaius in 2010, upon the discovery of its closer relation to Rieppeleon, one of several genera referred to collectively as "leaf" or "pygmy" chameleons, rather than to Calumma. The earliest known fossil of the genus is of Calumma benovskyi, from early Miocene Kenya, showing that the genus likely originated on mainland East Africa. The genus includes one of the heaviest and longest chameleon species, the Parson's chameleon (Calumma parsonii). A number of Calumma species are known as Pinocchio chameleons due to their long noses, which often grow and shrink in length.

01Species groups

Four species groups are recognised within the genus Calumma (originally proposed by Glaw & Vences in 1994), some of which may be only phenetic, while others are phylogenetically supported:

Calumma furcifer species group

Contents: Calumma furcifer, C. gastrotaenia, C. marojezense, C. guillaumeti, C. andringitraense, C. glawi, C. vencesi

Species characterised by typically green body colouration, sleek body form, and generally no occipital lobes (flaps of skin posterior to the head; present only in C. glawi) and no rostral appendage (present only in males of C. furcifer).

Calumma cucullatum species group

Contents: Calumma cucullatum, C. crypticum, C. amber, C. tsaratananense, C. hafahafa, C. hilleniusi, C. peltierorum, C. malthe, C. brevicorne, C. jejy, C. tsycorne

Species characterised by distinct occipital lobes and generally a single bony rostral appendage that is larger in males than females.

Calumma nasutum species group

Contents: Calumma nasutum, C. fallax, C. gallus, C. guibei, C. boettgeri, C. linotum, C. gehringi, C. uetzi, C. lefona, C. juliae, C. vatosoa, C. vohibola, C. peyrierasi, C. roaloko

Species characterised by a soft dermal rostral appendage (generally present in males and absent in females). The following members possess occipital lobes: C. guibei, C. boettgeri, C. linotum, C. gehringi, C. uetzi, C. lefona, C. roaloko, and C. juliae. These taxa are collectively referred to as the C. guibei species complex. Occipital lobes are absent from all other species. The assignment of C. peyrierasi to this group remains a subject of uncertainty.

Calumma parsonii species group

Contents: Calumma globifer, C. ambreense, C. oshaughnessyi, C. parsonii, C. capuroni

Species characterised by large body size, males with paired rostral appendages, and some species with small occipital lobes.

Glaw's chameleon (Calumma glawi)
Glaw's chameleon (Calumma glawi)

02Species

The following 41 species are recognized as being valid as of October 2020:

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Calumma.

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Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Calumma”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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