Reptile & Amphibian Forums

are called panthers? just curious...
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

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0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
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?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

I am not positive on this, but I believe they are called panthers cause they are agressive, like a panther. Think I read that somewhere.....

Ank-Inc.
Adam.

hey Adam,do you have a website? Your panthers are beautiful and so are your pics.Always look forward to seeing them. Its cool how photography and chams were meant fot each othe lol

Hey,

Thanks. I do not have a website yet, but we will in the next few months. Once again, thanks for the compliments. Have a great day!

Ank-Inc.
Adam.

I just assumed they were called panthers because of the shape of the "horn" on their nose. Because it kind of looks like a panthers big cat nose....maybe...maybe not

NP

actually, panthers (feline) have solid color bodies - black panther, the florida panther is a light brown to rust color.

But I like the idea of the nose! I had never thought about it - just think they have funny noses
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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

it's because they slink around like a cat. You know, when a cat is hunting they lower thier body to the ground and kinda stretch. All my chams do that when they are moving around the cage, thinking they are stealth!!

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Feenie

1.1 vieled cham.- Stitch and Rana (Missing you,Chloe)
2.0 Panther chams- Lou and Yosamite Sam
1.0 Giant Day Gecko- Mr. Gecko
0.1 Aussi Whites Tree frog- Frumpy
1.0 Peacock tree frog- Igaro
0.1 Reeds tree frog- Dottie
0.0.2 New River Tinc. Dart Frogs- Tinker and Bell
2.2 Canines Junior-pitbull chiuahuah mix, Jose- chiuahuah, Pearl- Staffie, and Daisy- Red nose Pit- foster child
1.0 Fiance- Trent species unknown
and the list grows on.............

It has to do with how they hunt their prey. And then attack with such speeds the prey stands no chance. Just like a panther would stalk its prey then pounce without the prey knowing what hit it.

peace,
nate

It is possible that continued internet searches may yield the esxact basis that the original "namer" used in choosing pardalis, or "like a female leopard or panther" going back to the original Greek. As many of us know, "pardalis" is a favorite in many scientific names, but whether because of appearance, behavior, or some other motivation, my guess is that it varies. Here's one paste:
"The Greek pardalis, and panther, were both applied to the leopard. "Panther" is sometimes used of large leopards, while in America, with its corrupt form "painter," it is one of the names applied to the cougar or puma, Felis concolor, which, as the specific name implies, is not spotted like the leopard, or striped like the tiger." Enjoy!
The Chameleon Company

Well, obviously Panther Chameleon is derived from the species name pardalis. Back when this species was described (early/mid 1800s), the majority of classification was done by morphology and I'd tend to lean toward a morphological justification for the naming in this case. Generally, the name pardalis is given as an indication of the paterning of the species. Typically, this is with regard to spotting or blotching. Interestingly enough, the type locality of this species (the locality by which the specimen used to describe this species was collected) is Mauritius. Unfortunately, I don't know what the specimens on Mauritius look like so unfortunately, I can't comment much further than that I suspect it has to do with the paterning of specimens there.

Chris
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Chris Anderson
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Though most panthers (feline) are solid in color the first named may have well been spotted or had other markings. The lighter color ones do show some subtle markings.

I still like the "big cat nose" idea! OK, it may not be correct, I think it was a well reasoned guess!

Chris, I had never heard of the island Mauritius before so I did an image search - check out the toes on this cool looking lizard!
mauritius lizards

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Chameleon Help & Resource Info

0.1 Veiled Chameleon - Luna. She's now hanging from her big jungle gym in the sky
1.0 Beardie - Darwin
0.2 felines - Kyndra and Lita
0.1 African Clawed Frog - Skipper
0.1 Mad. Hissers and she is on the loose!
0.1 Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula - Rosa Leigh
0.1 Goliath Bird-Eater Tarantula - Natasha
?.? Pinktoe Tarantula - no name yet

That lizard is really cool! One of the reasons I think that reptiles fascinate me so much is because they look so prehistoric! I love that guy's expression...he's a tough one. LOL

Maleea