Carpet Chameleon

Carpet Chameleon

Furcifer lateralis

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR Endemic
Daily sighting probability ~40% · Likely
at Antananarivo

In 3 days ~70% in a week >90%

21 Verified sightings at Antananarivo
8 In 1 park From 2019 to 2026
February Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Carpet Chameleon

The carpet chameleon (Furcifer lateralis), also known as the jewel chameleon or white-lined chameleon, is a species of chameleon that is endemic to eastern Madagascar. It is a relatively small chameleon and especially females tend to have bright markings in many colours, whereas males are mostly green and whitish or green and yellowish.

Two populations formerly included in this species are now recognized as separate: the larger and less strongly coloured F. major from southern Madagascar, and the typically greenish (it is not generally found in a dark, blackish form) F. viridis from western and northern Madagascar.

Furcifer lateralis can be found in eastern Madagascar. It can be found between 120 and 1,925 metres (394 and 6,316 ft) above sea level, and inhabits forests, shrubby areas, grasslands and well-vegetated gardens. The range of this common species covers more than 130,000 km2 (50,000 sq mi). It tolerates some habitat degradation and is regarded as Least Concern by the IUCN. There is an annual quota of individuals allowed to be collected for the pet trade.

Both sexes of Furcifer lateralis can reach total length of... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ranomafana National Park 🇲🇬 Madagascar
~20%

More parks will be added in future updates.

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Antananarivo 🇲🇬 Madagascar
~40%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Botanical and Zoological Garden of Tsimbazaza 🇲🇬 Madagascar In captivity
2 Mandraka Reptile Farm 🇲🇬 Madagascar In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Carpet Chameleon in Antananarivo?

Likely

About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Carpet Chameleon sighting in Antananarivo on a given day, based on 21 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 3rd most-seen of the 7 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 70%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Carpet Chameleon in Antananarivo?

February and April

In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Carpet Chameleon in Antananarivo on a given day, against under 5% in June and August–September, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Carpet Chameleon?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Carpet Chameleon sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Where else can you see a Carpet Chameleon?

Only Antananarivo, in our data

Antananarivo is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Carpet Chameleon sightings: about 40% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.

Where does the Carpet Chameleon sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Carpet Chameleon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Antananarivo (21 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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