First description:

(Gray, 1831)

Origin of the species name:

The English zoologist John Edward Gray was very brief in his description of this chameleon species: it consists of just keywords instead of a coherent sentence. In 1831 Gray was busy cataloging the reptile collection of the zoological department of the British Museum in London (Great Britain). One may assume that Gray borrowed the name of the chameleon species from the Latin cucullare. It means “hood” in English and probably describes the “hooded”, large occipital lobes of these chameleons.

Calumma cucullatum

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Ambavaniasy: -18.945400, 48.513700

Marojejy: -14.429360, 49.693909

Tampina: -18.524100, 49.279100

Voidrazana: -18.950778, 48.548927

Distribution:

The habitat of Calumma cucullatum extends from the eastern foothills of the central highlands of Madagascar of Vohidrazana to the evergreen rainforests of the Masoala National Park. Preference is given to dense rainforest areas. This type of chameleon is extremely difficult to find. Our finds are limited to the west of Masoala National Park and a small area near Voidrazana.

Appearance & size:

Calumma cucullatum is one of the larger chameleons with a total length of 31 to 38 cm. At the casque, they wear large occipital lobes connected at the upper base. They can be spread when excited to look more impressive. With some males, the rust ridge ends in two small snub noses. The dorsal crest alternately shows small and greatly enlarged conical scales, which are lacking in the throat and on the belly. The males are reddish-brown or grey and show a broad lateral stripe in stress, which extends from the corners of the mouth to the tail. The eyelids and a stain behind the shoulder are dyed blacks. The females are brown-green and shimmer yellowish at the throat and in the shoulder area.

• Climate table
• More about climate
• UVB indices
• Ground temperatures

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Average temperature	23	24	23	23	22	19	19	19	20	21	22	23
Minimum temperature	20	20	20	19	18	15	15	15	15	16	18	19
Maximum temperature	27	27	27	27	25	23	23	23	24	25	26	27
Rain days	27	24	19	17	18	21	20	15	16	20	25

We have collected the data given above over several years with thermometers and hygrometers at the finding places of the chameleons. "Average temperature" means that values of a whole month have been calculated to one average value per month. For example all measured minimum temperature values of February have been calculated to one average minimum temperature for February. In plain language, this means single peak values of a day may be a little higher or lower than the average minimum and maximum temperatures. It is possible that a location has an average maximum temperature of 29°C, but one day during that month it had 33°C or even 35°C there.

The region around Andasibe with the belonging forests Mantadia and Analamazaotra is located in Madagascar's eastern highlands at elevations between 900 and 1250 m above sea level. Thus temperatures sometimes reach temperatures above 25°C, but thermometers rarely climbs above 30°C or only in sunny places. At night, temperatures always drop to 10° to 15°C.

Humidity in Andasibe's rainforest is high all year long. During rainy season, it rains intensively every day, sometimes rain even lasts for days. But also dry season does not differ much besides the fact of cooler temperatures. It still rains at least every other day, in most years more often. Rain, humidity and temperature drop at night are the key features of the region around Andasibe.

Tageszeit = day time, Sonne = sun, Halbschatten = half shade, Schatten = shade

We have measured UVB data with a Solarmeter 6.5 in spring (March, April) at the peak of activity of chameleons in Madagascar. We always measured the values that a chameleon could maximally reach in its habitat.

Unfortunately, we have no ground temperatures for the region of Andasibe available yet.

Habitat:

The following photos show parts of the habitat of Calumma cucullatum in Vohidrazana and Marojejy. The forest area of Vohidrazana, where the animals still occur, is located on a very steep slope and is difficult to access. It is full of secondary vegetation with thin trees and lots of bushes.

In the following you will find some 360° pictures of the area near Vohidrazana. With the mouse you can turn in all directions. If you click on the Theta logo, the pictures will open in a separate window in an enlarged view. There you also have the possibility to view the pictures in full-screen mode. Have fun while watching!