CreatureData

Sahel chameleon

Chamaeleo africanus Laurenti, 1768

Status not recordedlizards

The sahel chameleon (Chamaeleo africanus) is a species in the family Chamaeleonidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh about 66.3 g, reach 15.3 cm in length and live up to 1.8 years.

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Quick facts about the sahel chameleon

Weight
66.3 g
Length
15.3 cm
Lifespan
1.8 years
Diet
Omnivore
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
grassland, shrubland
Egg incubation
176 days
Young per litter or clutch
15 – 53
Age at maturity
12 months – 15 months
Reproduction
Eggs
Active
By day (diurnal)
Lifestyle
Arboreal
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the sahel chameleon?

SAHEL CHAMELEON · LENGTH 15.3 CMADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 15.3 cm, the recorded maximum length of the sahel chameleon is about 9.0% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the sahel chameleon live?

Not recorded

Is the sahel chameleon endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the sahel chameleon classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classReptilia
  4. orderSquamata
  5. familyChamaeleonidae
  6. genusChamaeleo
  7. SpeciesChamaeleo africanus Laurenti, 1768

Synonyms Chamaeleo aegyptius, Chamaeleo basiliscus, Chamaeleo calcaratus, Chamaeleon basilicus, Chamaeleon basiliscus

Other names and names in other languages (18)
  • African chameleonEnglish
  • Basilisk chameleonEnglish
  • حرباء أفريقيةArabic
  • chameleon africkýCzech
  • Afrikansk kamæleonDanish
  • BasiliskenchamäleonGerman
  • Αφρικανικός ΧαμαιλέονταςGreek
  • Camaléon africanoSpanish
  • afrikankameleonttiFinnish
  • Caméléon africainFrench
  • afrikai kaméleonHungarian
  • バシリスクカメレオンJapanese
  • SahelkameleonDutch
  • Африканский хамелеонRussian
  • 非洲變色龍Chinese
  • Afrikanisches ChamäleonGerman
  • Basilisken-ChamäleonGerman
  • Afrikaanse KameleonDutch

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the sahel chameleon

Other species in the same genus Chamaeleo.

CompareSahel chameleon vs Common chameleonSahel chameleon vs Yemen chameleonSahel chameleon vs Asian chameleonSahel chameleon vs Desert chameleon

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the sahel chameleon?

An adult sahel chameleon weighs 66.3 g and measures 15.3 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

How long does the sahel chameleon live?

The sahel chameleon has a recorded lifespan of 1.8 years.

What kind of animal is the sahel chameleon?

The sahel chameleon (Chamaeleo africanus) belongs to the family Chamaeleonidae in the order Squamata.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Sahel chameleon (Chamaeleo africanus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/sahel-chameleon

MLA

“Sahel chameleon (Chamaeleo africanus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/sahel-chameleon.

BibTeX
@misc{sahel_chameleon_2026,
  title = {Sahel chameleon (Chamaeleo africanus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/sahel-chameleon},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}