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Taxonomic Paper Returned roperi and martensi to Subspecies of the Flap-Necked Chameleon

Female flap-necked chameleon perched on branches in iSimangaliso Wetland Park
Research · Evolution & taxonomy

A taxonomic paper published on 13 April 2026 revisited recent changes proposed within the flap-necked chameleon (Chamaeleo dilepis) species complex. Writing in African Journal of Herpetology, Devon C. Main and Colin R. Tilbury questioned the validity of a newly proposed species, Chamaeleo incognitus, and formally returned C. roperi and C. martensi from species rank to subspecies of C. dilepis.

The paper responds to a 2025 publication that described C. incognitus from the Kenyan highlands, primarily using morphology and elevational distribution. Main and Tilbury argue that the proposed name is currently unavailable under the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature. In zoological nomenclature, an “available” name is one that has been formally established under the Code’s rules. For electronic publications, the work must be registered in ZooBank before publication; the authors point out that the 2025 paper was registered only afterwards.

The proposed species name was challenged on both nomenclatural and biological grounds

They also challenge the biological evidence used to separate the proposed species. The authors state that morphology alone is unreliable for distinguishing species within the Chamaeleo dilepis complex and that previously published phylogenetic data do not support the boundaries proposed for C. incognitus. In their assessment, the combination of morphological differences and highland occurrence is not sufficient evidence for recognising it as a separate species.

roperi and martensi were returned to subspecies rank

The same paper addresses Chamaeleo roperi and Chamaeleo martensi, two forms that had recently been treated as full species. Main and Tilbury argue that the available evidence does not justify species rank and formally treat them instead as Chamaeleo dilepis roperi and Chamaeleo dilepis martensi.

The paper highlights a broader difficulty in the flap-necked chameleon complex: geographically separated populations can differ in appearance, but morphological variation does not necessarily map neatly onto independently evolving lineages. The authors therefore emphasise phylogenetic evidence alongside morphology when deciding where species boundaries should be drawn in this group.

Sources and image credit

  1. Main, D. C., & Tilbury, C. R. (2026). Chamaeleo incognitus or Chamaeleo ignotus? Questioning the taxonomic validity of a new chameleon species. African Journal of Herpetology, 75(1), 124–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/21564574.2025.2595158Primary peer-reviewed Rapid Communication published online 13 April 2026. The DOI contains 2025, but the publisher records the article as a 2026 publication. The authors question the availability and delimitation of Chamaeleo incognitus and formally return C. roperi and C. martensi to subspecies rank.
  2. Nečas, P. (2025). The new mysterious highland flap-necked chameleons from East Africa, with remarks on the status of Chamaeleo roperi Boulenger, 1890 and Chamaeleo martensi Mertens, 1964 (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae). Archaius, 2(1), 7. https://www.archaius.eu/the-highland-flap-necked-chameleons/Background source that proposed Chamaeleo incognitus and the rank changes addressed by the 2026 primary paper; it does not determine the publication date of this News Desk story.

Image: Charles J. Sharp — wild female flap-necked chameleon in iSimangaliso Wetland Park, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, photographed 25 October 2014; Wikimedia Commons Quality Image and Valued Image; representative image of Chamaeleo dilepis · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

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