NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Graceful Chameleon
Chamaeleo gracilis Hallowell, 1844
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 graceful chameleon (Chamaeleo gracilis) is a species of chameleon native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is commonly around a foot (30.5 cm) long. Because of its abundance, it is heavily exploited by the pet trade.
Wikipedia contributors, Graceful chameleon; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:16:35.937160+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Chamaeleo gracilis Hallowell, 1844
- Name authority
- Hallowell, 1844
- Common name
- Graceful Chameleon
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Chamaeleonidae
- Genus
- Chamaeleo
- 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
- genusChamaeleo
- speciesChamaeleo gracilis Hallowell, 1844
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Chamaeleo. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Namaqua ChameleonChamaeleo namaquensis Smith, 1831 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Smooth chameleonChamaeleo laevigatus Gray, 1863 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Double-scaled ChameleonChamaeleo anchietae Bocage, 1872 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chamaeleo calcaricarens Böhme, 1985 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Veiled ChameleonChamaeleo calyptratus Duméril & Duméril, 1851 | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chamaeleo chamaeleon (Linnaeus, 1758) | ChamaeleonidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Socotra ChameleonChamaeleo monachus Gray, 1865 | 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 |
|---|---|
| Chamaeleo burchelli Hallowell, 1842 Hallowell, 1842 | synonym |
| Chamaeleon gracilis var. leiocephalus Gray, 1865 Gray, 1865 | synonym |
| Chamaleo | synonym |
| Chamaeleo (Chamaeleo) gracilis gracilis Hallowell, 1857 Hallowell, 1857 | synonym |
| Chamaeleo granulosus Hallowell, 1856 Hallowell, 1856 | synonym |
| Chamaeleon etiennei Schmidt, 1919 Schmidt, 1919 | synonym |
| Chamaeleo burchelli Hallowell, 1857 Hallowell, 1857 | synonym |
| Chamaeleo granulosus Hallowell, 1857 Hallowell, 1857 | synonym |
| Chamaeleo simoni Boettger, 1885 Boettger, 1885 | 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=Chamaeleo&species=gracilis 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:TK5T. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.