Triceratops of the Trees

What am I looking at?

This is a male Jackson’s chameleon (Trioceros jacksonii) climbing up a tree branch. You can see its heavily lidded eye (1); zygodactylous feet (2), with toes arranged in bundles of twos and threes facing each other; and three long horns (3).

Click on the right arrow to see another example of this chameleon.

Biology in the background

These chameleons were first described in 1896 by Belgian-British zoologist George Albert Boulenger, but he named them after English explorer and ornithologist Frederick John Jackson, who was the governor of Kenya at the time. They are native to East Africa but have been introduced to Hawaii, Florida, and California. Their distinctive horns can grow to three times the length of their head but are very rarely used for defense or fighting.

Like most chameleons, they are able to change the color of their skin for camouflage and communication with other chameleons, although not to an impressive degree. Cold or stressed Jackson’s chameleons turn darker green, sometimes almost black, and can display banded patterns.

These chameleons mainly hunt insects from ambush but in their native habitat have been known to also eat spiders, other lizards, and snails. They are more territorial than most other chameleons, and males will compete for territory with displays of color and posturing, though rarely with physical confrontation.

A Jackson’s chameleon can grow up to 38 centimeters long (about 15 inches).

Technique

These images were created using macrophotography.