| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANIMALIA | CHORDATA | REPTILIA | SQUAMATA | CHAMAELEONIDAE |
| Scientific Name: | Trioceros cristatus | |||
| Species Authority: | (Stutchbury, 1837) | |||
Common Name/s:
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| Synonym/s: |
Chamaeleo cristatus (Stutchbury, 1837)
Chamaeleon cristatus Stutchbury, 1837
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| Red List Category & Criteria: | Least Concern ver 3.1 |
| Year Published: | 2011 |
| Assessor/s: | LeBreton, M., Carpenter, A.I. & Luiselli, L. |
| Reviewer/s: | Bohm, M, Collen, B. & Ram, M. |
| Contributor/s: | De Silva, R., Milligan, HT, Wearn, O.R., Wren, S., Zamin, T., Sears, J., Wilson, P., Lewis, S., Lintott, P. & Powney, G. |
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Justification: Trioceros cristatus is widely distributed and despite the ongoing loss and degradation of its habitat, it is unlikely to be undergoing significant declines in all of its range. Therefore it has been assessed as Least Concern. However, its population may also decline locally as a result of exploitation for the pet trade, so that more research into harvest levels is required as a threat category may be triggered in the future if trade in this species increases. |
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| Range Description: | This species is distributed in west and central Africa from Nigeria eastwards into the Congo basin. This species is reported to be uncommon in at least the Cameroon and Nigerian portion of its range (Gonwou 2002, Akani et al. 2001). It is found between an altitude of 10 and 900 m above sea level and its extent of occurrence is in excess of 1 million km2. |
| Countries: |
Native:
Cameroon; Central African Republic; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Equatorial Guinea; Gabon; Nigeria
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| Range Map: | Click here to open the map viewer and explore range. |
| Population: | There is no population information available for this species. |
| Population Trend: |
Unknown
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| Habitat and Ecology: | This species is found in farmland, forest, disturbed forest and secondary forest (M. LeBreton pers. comm.), and in the savanna-forest mosaics (Chirio and LeBreton 2007). |
| Systems: | Terrestrial |
| Major Threat(s): |
This species is thought to be resilient to the effects of habitat loss and degradation unless these threats are both acute and extensive. Logging has been blamed for the possible disappearance of the species from one location in Nigeria (Akani et al. 2001). However, limited local forest disturbance, such as smallholder rotating slash and burn agriculture, may even benefit this species; this creates mosaic habitats in which the species is often found, such as open forest and farm bush (M. LeBreton pers. comm. 2008). Other agricultural methods, however, such as industrial monoculture farming (e.g., for banana or palm oil) would cause habitat loss. Additionally, this species is collected for the international pet trade industry, and approximately 3,000 live individuals were exported from countries within the species' range between 2005 and 2008 (UNEP-WCMC 2010). |
| Conservation Actions: | This species is listed on CITES Appendix II and the distribution of this species falls within a number of protected areas. Further research is required to understand why this species is uncommon in the Cameroon and Nigerian portion of its range, and to assess harvest levels. |
| Citation: | LeBreton, M., Carpenter, A.I. & Luiselli, L. 2011. Trioceros cristatus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 24 May 2012. |
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