Namaqua Dwarf Chameleon

Fascinating facts about the Namaqua Dwarf Chameleon

• A length of up to 16 cm makes the western dwarf chameleon one of the larger dwarf chameleons, and its tail is the shortest of any Bradypodion species.
• Under its chin run a series of gular grooves that trace from the mouth to the chest.
• From Melkbosstrand near Cape Town up to Lüderitz in Namibia, this chameleon occurs in a narrow strip of beach vegetation and is rarely found inland.
• Where towns meet the dunes, domestic cats become a silent threat, and expanding housing projects constantly shred the Strandveld that the chameleon depends on. These pressures reveal how even a creature well-suited to its niche can be undone by human activity, urging us to protect the narrow habitats it calls home.

At a glance

About the Namaqua Dwarf Chameleon

The Namaqua dwarf chameleon (Bradypodion occidentale) is a relatively large dwarf chameleon, reaching up to 16 cm in length, with a stocky build and the shortest tail in its genus. It has distinctive gular grooves under its chin and a dull, mottled brown-grey colour. It occurs along the coastal strandveld of the far-west coast of South Africa and Namibia, from Melkbosstrand near Cape Town northward to Lüderitz in Namibia, and is rarely found further inland. Its range slightly overlaps that of the Cape dwarf chameleon, but the two species occupy different habitats.

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