Notes on Chameleons, II: Chamaeleo laevigularis (L. Müller, 1926), a synonym of Chamaeleo johnstoni (Boulenger, 1901)

In 1926 LORENZ MÜLLER described a new chameleon, labelled “East London, Kapland”. MÜLLER remarked on the terra typica: “Ich erhielt dieses Chamäleon mit einem anderen, der Gruppe des Ch. pumilus angehörigen, von meinem Freund Prof. Dr. Fr. Werner in Wien, der die beiden Chamäleons vor einigen Jahren von der Naturalienhandlung Boettcher in Berlin gekauft hatte. Wie mir Prof. Werner schrieb, zweifelte er die Richtigkeit des Fundortes für das hier neu beschriebene Chamäleon an.” In ”The Lizards of South Africa” FITZSIMONS (1943) mentioned Chamaeleon laevigularis as a ”species auctorum”, of which he remarked (p. 174): ”The above description, based on a young specimen supposedly from East London, is certainly not applicable to any of the known species of South African chameleons, while the feebly marked dorsal ridge and the absence of a gular crest preclude its inclusion with the Cape chameleons of the Lophosaura group, which are all characterized by a more or less distinct dorsal and gular crest. It is thus extremely doubtful if the type locality (East London) given is correct and until such time as the contrary is proved by further collecting, laevigularis cannot with any certainty be regarded as a South African form.”