Red List of South African Species

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Endangered (EN)
B1ab(iii,v)
Assessors: Krystal A Tolley
Facilitators: Graham Alexander
Reviewers: Nicolas Telford Alex Rebelo John Measey M.D. Hofmeyr

Rationale (Changed due to Criteria Revision|Incorrect data used previously)

Has a restricted range with a small extent of occurrence (EOO) of ca 3,900 km2, although it can be locally abundant in some places. Its current range is highly transformed and the entire species occurs in a severely fragmented habitat. It is under heavy anthropogenic pressure and poorly protected (Driver et al. 2012). Given the general poor quality and severe fragmentation of habitat and its small range, it is considered Endangered.

Distribution

Endemic to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa (Bates et al. 2014). It has a limited distribution and is generally found in the Natal Midlands, particularly in the vicinity of Howick, Mooi River and Nottingham Road (Tolley and Burger 2007).

Population trend

Trend

No information is currently available on population size or trends, but the population is considered severely fragmented due to heavy habitat transformation within its natural habitat and range. It is therefore inferred to be in decline.

Threats

Much of the species’ habitat has been given over to agriculture and large-scale wood plantation (pine and eucalyptus) and urban residential development. Afforestation potential, with the associated risk of alien plant invasion, is high within the region (Rouget et al. 2004, Driver et al. 2012, Schoeman et al. 2013). Continuing land transformation could cause a further decline in the extent and quality of the remaining habitat. Removal from the wild for pet trade could pose a serious threat for this species. Unregulated targeted removals from the wild occur, and removals could conceivably affect entire (small) subpopulations. Given the severe habitat fragmentation, subsequent recruitment is considered to be unlikely.

Uses and trade

Chameleons are sometimes removed from the wild by the general public as pets. There have been some commercial exports of this species for pet trade (UNEP-WCMC 2017) although until 2013, the numbers were minimal and were not expected to impact wild populations. There have been increases in the numbers of individuals exported from 2014-2016, with 349 exports as opposed to only 74 in the period 1975-2013. This potential increasing trend should be monitored, and if necessary, non-detriment findings should be considered, as well as a Biodiversity Management Plan. Strict enforcement of CITES regulations should be applied.

Conservation

This species is listed in CITES Appendix II; it occurs in some protected areas. Habitat loss, fragmentation and transformation are the most serious threats this species, Management of urban green areas and larger nature reserves including linking of existing habitat fragments that promote dispersal and interbreeding could be beneficial, as would public awareness on the negative impacts of translocating chameleons and encourage the planting of chameleon-friendly gardens to increase and link remaining suitable habitat.

References 

[@electronic{181632,
 address = {www.iucnredlist.org},
 author = {IUCN},
 title = {The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2018-2},
 year = {2018}
}
,@techreport{5228,
 address = {Pretoria, South Africa},
 author = {Driver, A., Sink, K.J., Nel, J.N., Holness, S., Van Niekerk, L., Daniels, F., Jonas, Z., Majiedt, P.A., Harris, L. and Maze, K.},
 institution = {South African National Biodiversity Institute and Department of Environmental Affairs},
 title = {National Biodiversity Assessment 2011: An assessment of South Africa’s biodiversity and ecosystems. Synthesis Report},
 year = {2012}
}
,@book{612,
 address = {Pretoria},
 author = {Bates, M.F., Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M., Burger, M., Marais, J., Alexander, G.J. and de Villiers, M.S.},
 publisher = {Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute},
 title = {Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland},
 year = {2014}
}
,@book{3009,
 address = {Cape Town},
 author = {Tolley, K.A. and Burger, M.},
 publisher = {Struik},
 title = {Chameleons of Southern Africa},
 year = {2007}
}
,@electronic{3009,
 address = {https://trade.cites.org/},
 author = {UNEP-WCMC},
 title = {CITES Trade Database},
 year = {2017}
}
,@article{3012,
 author = {Schoeman, F., Newby, T.S., Thompson, M.W. and Van den Berg, E.C.},
 journal = {South African Journal of Geomatics},
 number = {2},
 pages = {94--105},
 title = {South African National Land-Cover Change Map},
 volume = {2},
 year = {2013}
}
,@article{3017,
 author = {Rouget, M., Richardson, D.M., Nel, J.L., Le Maitre, D.C., Egoh B. and Mgidi, T.},
 journal = {Diversity and Distributions},
 pages = {475--484},
 title = {Mapping the potential ranges of major plant invaders in South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland using climatic suitability},
 volume = {10},
 year = {2004}
}
,@article{3017,
 author = {da Silva, J.M. and Tolley, K.A.},
 journal = {Journal of Biogeography},
 pages = {834--847},
 title = {Diversification through ecological opportunity in dwarf chameleons},
 volume = {44},
 year = {2017}
}
,]
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