Chamaeleo dilepis
Encyclopedia
The Flap-necked Chameleon, Chamaeleo dilepis, is native to Sub-Saharan Africa
. It is a large chameleon
, reaching 35 centimetres (13.8 in). Like other chameleons, this species can change colour and pattern to suit the surroundings. Colouring ranges through various shades of green, yellow and brown. There is usually a pale stripe on the lower flanks and one to three pale patches higher on the flanks. These chameleons lay 25 to 50 eggs in a hole dug in soil, which is covered over again by the female. Food includes grasshopper
s, butterflies
and flies
.
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
. It is a large chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
, reaching 35 centimetres (13.8 in). Like other chameleons, this species can change colour and pattern to suit the surroundings. Colouring ranges through various shades of green, yellow and brown. There is usually a pale stripe on the lower flanks and one to three pale patches higher on the flanks. These chameleons lay 25 to 50 eggs in a hole dug in soil, which is covered over again by the female. Food includes grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s, butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
and flies
Fly
True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...
.