Lars Dwinger, member of the Chameleon Working Group, will give a detailed presentation on his trip to Madagascar this year on Saturday, 6 September 2025.

Together with the Tanalahorizon team and herpetologist Dr. Frank Glaw, he set off for north-eastern Madagascar. The team spent a whole week in the mountain rainforest of Marojejy to find, document and – thanks to permits – also collect undescribed chameleon species. A fantastic experience with numerous unexpected highlights! Following this sweat-inducing but, as far as chameleons are concerned, very successful expedition, the team headed to the lowland rainforest of Bobangira, right on the Indian Ocean. This part of the island is practically unexplored due to its poor accessibility – as the lecture clearly illustrates – and is home to a large number of snakes and other undescribed chameleons. But it’s not just chameleon lovers who will get their money’s worth at this lecture; other reptiles and amphibians are also shown in numerous fantastic photos.

Lars Dwinger The summit of Marojejy and the gallery forest of Bobangira – two virtually unexplored herping paradises [German]
50th Jubilee and VDA regional day
Ganztagszentrum
Am Markt 2
22941 Bargteheide
Presentation begins at 2 p.m.

Picture: Palleon lolontany, photographed by Markus Bartels on this very trip

If that’s not an exciting and highly interesting start to the new lecture year! On Friday 10 January 2025, Falk Eckhardt, a long-standing member of the Chameleons Working Group, will be giving a detailed talk on the chameleons of Madagascar.

Hardly any other lizard family is as well known as the chameleons. This is mainly due to their many special features, such as their independently movable eyes, rapid colour change, sling tongue, pincer-like feet and prehensile tail. Madagascar is considered the centre of species diversity in this family. Almost half of all chameleon species, including the world’s smallest and largest species, live on this island. There are currently around 100 species on Madagascar, divided into four genera. Representatives of the two original genera Brookesia and Palleon are predominantly small, brownish in colour and usually stay close to the ground. Their ability to change colour is limited and their tail is rather short. The two other genera Calumma and Furcifer, on the other hand, show all the classic characteristics of the ‘typical’ chameleon.

In his lecture, Falk will discuss the distribution and lifestyle of Madagascan chameleons. Special attention will also be paid to the short lifespan of some species, which Falk has also worked with professionally over a longer period of time. The importance of chameleons in Malagasy culture will also be discussed. That really sounds like a wonderful chameleon evening!

Falk Eckhardt Madagascar’s chameleons [German]
DGHT regional group Hamburg
Clubhouse “Am Sportplatzring”
Sportplatzring 47
22527 Hamburg
Presentation starts at 8.00 p.m.

Picture: Furcifer labordi female, photographed by the presenter

Wolfgang Schmidt, long-time member of the AG Chameleons, will give a detailed lecture on chameleons in Bergkamen on 01 November 2024. Wolfgang has already kept and successfully propagated a large number of chameleon species at home. He has also been travelling with his wife to the various habitats of chameleons for years, be it in South Africa, Socotra or Saudi Arabia. It is sure to be an exciting and colourful talk, just the thing for chameleon lovers!

Wolfgang Schmidt Observations of chameleons in the wild and in the terrarium [German]
DGHT city group Dortmund
Restaurant Olympia
Im Alten Dorf 2
59192 Bergkamen
Meeting from 5.30 p.m.
Presentation starts at 7.30 p.m.