Furcifer rhinoceratus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Population

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Conservation Actions

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	REPTILIA	SQUAMATA	CHAMAELEONIDAE

Scientific Name:	Furcifer rhinoceratus
Species Authority:	(Gray, 1843)
Synonym/s:	Chamaeleon rhinoceratus Gray, 1843
Taxonomic Notes:	F. monoceras is considered a junior synonymn of F. rhinoceratus (Glaw and Vences 2007).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:	Vulnerable B1ab(iii) ver 3.1
Year Published:	2011
Assessor/s:	Jenkins, R.K.B., Andreone, F., Andriamazava, A., Anjeriniaina, M., Brady, L., Glaw, F., Griffiths, R.A., Rabibisoa, N., Rakotomalala, D., Randrianantoandro, J.C., Randrianiriana, J., Randrianizahana , H., Ratsoavina, F. & Robsomanitrandrasana, E.
Reviewer/s:	Bowles, P. & Tolley, K.
Contributor/s:
Justification: Listed as Vulnerable as the species has an estimated extent of occurrence of 13,771 km^² in a part of northwestern Madagascar where its habitat continues to decline due to slash-and-burn agriculture, cattle grazing and logging, and it is presumed to occur as a severely fragmented population. If future research reveals this species to be more tolerant of forest loss and degradation than is currently known, it may require listing in a less threatened category.

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:	This chameleon is endemic to the island of Madagascar, where it occurs in an area of the dry west (Glaw and Vences 2007). It is known from around Parc National Ankarafantsika in the north of its range to Soalala in the southwest. However, many of the records from the west of this range are old, and surveys are needed to confirm the persistence of the species in this area. The lizard has an estimated extent of occurrence of 13,771 km².
Countries:	Native: Madagascar
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Range Description:

This chameleon is endemic to the island of Madagascar, where it occurs in an area of the dry west (Glaw and Vences 2007). It is known from around Parc National Ankarafantsika in the north of its range to Soalala in the southwest. However, many of the records from the west of this range are old, and surveys are needed to confirm the persistence of the species in this area. The lizard has an estimated extent of occurrence of 13,771 km².

Countries:

Native:

Madagascar

Range Map:

Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:	This species is uncommon. Due to heavy human pressures on and the patchy distribution of remaining forest within its range, the population is likely to be both declining and severely fragmented.
Population Trend:	Decreasing

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	This chameleon inhabits dry deciduous forest (Ramanamanjato and Rabibisoa 2002). It is not clear to what degree this species can survive in degraded habitats.
Systems:	Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	Threats in the region include bush fires, cattle grazing, and deforestation for charcoal collection.

Major Threat(s):

Threats in the region include bush fires, cattle grazing, and deforestation for charcoal collection.

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:	This species occurs in Parc National Ankarafantsika. This site needs to be managed to limit the intrusion of damaging human activities. Research is needed to establish the extent of this species' distribution in the west of its range, from which modern records are lacking, and to clarify the degree to which this species is able to tolerate habitat degradation and modification.

Conservation Actions:

This species occurs in Parc National Ankarafantsika. This site needs to be managed to limit the intrusion of damaging human activities. Research is needed to establish the extent of this species' distribution in the west of its range, from which modern records are lacking, and to clarify the degree to which this species is able to tolerate habitat degradation and modification.

Citation:	Jenkins, R.K.B., Andreone, F., Andriamazava, A., Anjeriniaina, M., Brady, L., Glaw, F., Griffiths, R.A., Rabibisoa, N., Rakotomalala, D., Randrianantoandro, J.C., Randrianiriana, J., Randrianizahana , H., Ratsoavina, F. & Robsomanitrandrasana, E. 2011. Furcifer rhinoceratus. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 20 June 2013.
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