NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Strange-horned chameleon
Kinyongia xenorhina (Boulenger, 1901)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The strange-horned chameleon (Kinyongia xenorhina), also known as Rwenzori plate-nosed chameleon or single welded-horn chameleon, is a species of chameleon. It is native to the rainforests of the Ruwenzori Mountains of western Uganda and eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. The strange-horned chameleon is named for the large protuberance extending from the top of its snout, particularly prominent on the males of the species. This feature is composed of two separate plates extending outwards from either side of the snout and merging at the end. This feature has also earned it the alternate common name single welded-horn chameleon. It also has a very high casque (a helmet-like structure towards the back of the skull). The head and casque are covered with enlarged, plate-like scales. Strange-horned chameleons are olive to brown in color. Males range more towards olive and females more towards brown. They can reach a total length of 28 cm (11 in). They have among the sharpest "teeth" and longest claws of any chameleon species. The strange-horned chameleon has rarely been bred in captivity.
Wikipedia contributors, Strange-horned chameleon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:01:35.800150+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Kinyongia xenorhina (Boulenger, 1901)
- Name authority
- (Boulenger, 1901)
- Common name
- Strange-horned chameleon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Chamaeleonidae
- Genus
- Kinyongia
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderIguania
- familyChamaeleonidae
- genusKinyongia
- speciesKinyongia xenorhina (Boulenger, 1901)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Kinyongia. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Fischer’s chameleonKinyongia fischeri (Reichenow, 1887) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Circular-scaled ChameleonKinyongia gyrolepis Greenbaum, Tolley, Joma & Kusamba, 2012 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Magombera chameleonKinyongia magomberae Menegon, Tolley, Jones, Rovero, Marshall & Tilbury, 2009 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| West Usambara two-horned chamaeleonKinyongia multituberculata (Nieden, 1913) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kilimanjaro two-horned chamaeleonKinyongia tavetana (Steindachner, 1891) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Matschie's Dwarf ChameleonKinyongia tenuis (Matschie, 1892) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Uluguru two-horned chamaeleonKinyongia uluguruensis (Loveridge, 1957) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Carpenter’s chameleonKinyongia carpenteri (Parker, 1929) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ituri chameleonKinyongia adolfifriderici (Sternfeld, 1912) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mount-Nyiro Bearded ChameleonKinyongia asheorum Nečas, Sindaco, Korený, Kopecná, Malonza & Modrý, 2009 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Böhme’s two-horned chamaeleonKinyongia boehmei (Lutzmann & Nečas, 2002) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Mt Kenya hornless chameleonKinyongia excubitor (Barbour, 1911) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Chamaeleon xenorhinus Boulenger, 1901 Boulenger, 1901 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Kinyongia&species=xenorhina Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:3R88C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.