Yesterday I wrote about the Mt. Gorongosa Pygmy Chameleon, a species endemic to a single mountain in central Mozambique. But if you travel towards the southwestern corner of South Africa, you are likely to encounter another lineage of these amazing lizards, the Dwarf Chameleons (Bradypodion). About twenty species of these small but incredibly colorful chameleons are known from South Africa, and they are all endemic to this country.

Last year Kristin and I met one of the species, the Cape Dwarf Chameleon (B. pumilum), in a picturesque vineyard near Stellenbosch, as we were walking, glasses in hand, among rows of grapevines before sunset. A biologist’s life is sometimes so tough.