NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Eastern Cape Dwarf Chameleon
Bradypodion ventrale (Gray, 1845)
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.
White ,grey and brown Southern dwarf chameleon found in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape, South Africa
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Open encyclopedia reference
Bradypodion ventrale, the southern dwarf chameleon, occurs in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is also known as the eastern Cape dwarf chameleon. It is a relatively large species of dwarf chameleon, reaching lengths of 14 cm (5.5 in). It has a very prominent casque on the back of its head and a long, beard-like throat crest. It lives in dense thickets and shrub, and is usually very difficult to spot because of its colouring. It adapts very well to living in suburban gardens, but domestic cats – being introduced predators – will usually kill all chameleons in the immediate area. Consequently, one should not bring chameleons into a garden which is frequented by cats. It gives birth to litters of between 10 and 20 babies in the summer.
Wikipedia contributors, Bradypodion ventrale; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:51:24.073413+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Bradypodion ventrale (Gray, 1845)
- Name authority
- (Gray, 1845)
- Common name
- Eastern Cape Dwarf Chameleon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Chamaeleonidae
- Genus
- Bradypodion
- 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
- genusBradypodion
- speciesBradypodion ventrale (Gray, 1845)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Bradypodion. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Little Karoo Dwarf ChameleonBradypodion gutturale (Smith, 1849) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Swartberg Dwarf chameleonBradypodion atromontanum Branch, Tolley & Tilbury, 2006 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dhlinza Dwarf ChameleonBradypodion caeruleogula Raw & Brothers, 2008 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Pondo Dwarf ChameleonBradypodion caffrum (Boettger, 1889) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Drakensberg Dwarf ChameleonBradypodion dracomontanum Raw, 1976 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Beardless Dwarf ChameleonBradypodion barbatulum Tolley, Tilbury & Burger, 2022 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bradypodion baviaanense Tolley, Tilbury & Burger, 2022 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black-headed Dwarf ChameleonBradypodion melanocephalum (Gray, 1865) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Nkandla Dwarf Chameleon [nkandlae]Bradypodion nemorale Raw, 1978 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ngome Dwarf ChameleonBradypodion ngomeense Tilbury & Tolley, 2009 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Dwarf ChameleonBradypodion occidentale (Hewitt, 1935) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Setaro's Dwarf ChameleonBradypodion setaroi Raw, 1976 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Lophosaura melanocephala kentamica Hewitt, 1935 Hewitt, 1935 | synonym |
| Chamaeleo ventralis Gray, 1845 Gray, 1845 | synonym |
| Lophosaura ventralis var. karrooica Methuen & Hewitt, 1915 Methuen & Hewitt, 1915 | 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=Bradypodion&species=ventrale 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.
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:N5BK. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.