Mt. Kilimanjaro Two-Horned Chameleon

Fascinating facts about the Mt. Kilimanjaro Two-Horned Chameleon

• At roughly 24 cm (9 in) long, the Kilimanjaro two-horned chameleon stretches to the size of a school ruler, with males consistently topping the females.
• The male’s nose bears a pair of diverging, blade-like horns, absent in females, making the sexes easy to tell apart in the wild.
• Its home spans high-altitude forests and woodlands from Mount Kilimanjaro through the Chyulu Hills, Mount Meru and the Pare Mountains, linking Kenya and Tanzania’s upland ecosystems.
• Originally lumped with K. fischeri, the chameleon was recognized as its own species only in 1991, and a 2002 population from Kenya’s Taita Hills was briefly named a subspecies before being promoted to full species status in 2008.

At a glance

About the Mt. Kilimanjaro Two-Horned Chameleon

The Kilimanjaro two-horned chameleon, Kinyongia tavetana, lives in the highland forests, woodlands, well-wooded gardens and plantations of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. It reaches about 24 cm (9 in) in total length, with males larger than females, and adult males have a pair of diverging, blade-like horns on the nose, which females lack. Its colour varies among shades of brown, grey, green, yellow, red and blue, depending on location and sex. It is found on Mount Kilimanjaro, the Chyulu Hills, Mount Meru and the Pare Mountains.

More reptiles to discover

Browse Feravox