NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Green chameleon
Furcifer viridis Florio, Ingram, Rakotondravony, Louis Jr & Raxworthy, 2012
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
Furcifer viridis, the green chameleon, is a species of chameleon found widely in forest, scrub and grasslands in western and northern Madagascar. Females are up to 19 cm (7.5 in) in total length and typically mottled or banded in pinkish and green, whereas males are up to 28 cm (11 in) in total length are mostly greenish, typically with pale edging to their mouth and a pale horizontal stripe along the middle of their body. It was formerly considered a part of F. lateralis, but was recognized as a separate species in 2012.
They have three toes stuck together on one side of their foot, and on the other side, they have two stuck together toes. They rely on camouflage to catch their food with a long sticky tongue. Their tail is prehensile (Prehensile meaning: their tail can curl up like a spiral and hang onto branches) like most other chameleons in the Furcifer genus. They are arboreal, which means that they climb in trees.
Wikipedia contributors, Furcifer viridis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:47:34.674390+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Furcifer viridis Florio, Ingram, Rakotondravony, Louis Jr & Raxworthy, 2012
- Name authority
- Florio, Ingram, Rakotondravony, Louis Jr & Raxworthy, 2012
- Common name
- Green chameleon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Chamaeleonidae
- Genus
- Furcifer
- 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
- genusFurcifer
- speciesFurcifer viridis Florio, Ingram, Rakotondravony, Louis Jr & Raxworthy, 2012
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Furcifer. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Furcifer polleni (Peters, 1874) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lesser ChameleonFurcifer minor (Günther, 1879) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Furcifer bifidus (Brongniart, 1800) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Rhinoceros chameleonFurcifer rhinoceratus (Gray, 1845) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Campan’s chameleonFurcifer campani (Grandidier, 1872) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Timon’s chameleonFurcifer timoni Glaw, Köhler & Vences, 2009 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Furcifer cephalolepis (Günther, 1880) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Labord’s chameleonFurcifer labordi (Grandidier, 1872) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Furcifer balteatus (Duméril & Bibron, 1851) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Wills’ chameleonFurcifer willsii (Günther, 1890) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Furcifer verrucosus (Cuvier, 1829) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ambilobe panther chameleonFurcifer pardalis (Cuvier, 1829) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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=Furcifer&species=viridis 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:6JSY6. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.