Calumma fallax
Silhouette: T. Michael Keesey (from a photograph by Frank Glaw, Jörn Köhler, Ted M. Townsend & Miguel Vences) · PhyloPic
In 3 days >90%
Calumma fallax, the deceptive chameleon or short-nosed deceptive chameleon is a species of chameleon endemic to eastern Madagascar, where its type locality is the Ikongo forest. It was first described by François Mocquard in 1900 as Chamaeleon fallax, and it was first recognized as Calumma fallax in 1986. It is a member of the Chamaeleoninae nominotypical subfamily of chameleons, and is believed to be found over an area of 2,057 km2 (794 sq mi), although the population is unknown.
Calumma fallax is endemic to eastern Madagascar, and has a type locality of the Ikongo forest, Madagascar. It can be found at a mid-altitude over an area of about 2,057 km2 (794 sq mi), although this is not confirmed. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has classed this species as "data deficient", as not enough information on this species is available to correctly classify it. The population of this species is unknown and no population trend is known. It is found in an area where the habitat is affected by the slash-and-burn agricultural method, bushfires, and logging. Calumma fallax is used in the pet industry and is sometimes domesticated.
It... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ranomafana National Park | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mandraka Reptile Farm | 🇲🇬 Madagascar |
Likely
About 60% of wildlife watchers report a Deceptive Chameleon sighting in Ranomafana National Park on a given day, based on 86 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 6th most-seen of the 29 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June and October
In those months about 80% of wildlife watchers report a Deceptive Chameleon in Ranomafana National Park on a given day, against about 10% in February, the lowest month.
Between 5 and 8 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Deceptive Chameleon sightings with a recorded time, and about half of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is most active around dawn and dusk.
Only Ranomafana National Park, in our data
Ranomafana National Park is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Deceptive Chameleon sightings: about 60% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
Same genus: Calumma
The closest relatives of the Deceptive Chameleon that you can see in Ranomafana National Park (genus Calumma) are Cryptic Chameleon (about 80%), O'Shaughnessy's Chameleon (about 80%) and Ranomafana Nosed Chameleon (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Deceptive Chameleon is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Ranomafana National Park (86 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), 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.
