國王變色龍指名亞種 (Calumma parsonii parsonii)
This is the biggest chameleon, the nominate subspecies of Parson's Chameleon (Calumma parsonii parsonii)! Let's call him as Billy. It was a bad timing when I saw Billy. That morning, I was taking a off-road type Taxi-Brousse from Maroantsetra to Mananara. The distance was less than 100 kilometers, but it took one whole day to finish it. The road there was so bad that took many time to pass. The rickety car, the single shotgun seat but share with another man... It was so tired! Fortunately, the scenery was great along the way, some nice forest on both sides, singing of the Mantella frogs... The mood was not too bad. On the way, there was several chameleons walked cross the way, include two beautiful male panther chameleons. But when you sitting on a Taxi-Brousse, it's too embarrassed to ask the driver stop the car for your photographing on the chameleons. What a pity! But when I saw this unpredictable big chameleon, shaking his body, walking cross the way... Everything's out of control! I yelled: "STOP!! (it was really loudly)... Can you stop for a while please...? (became normal :P)" Maybe it was because I shared my cookies to the driver before, he stop the car and let me to deal with Billy, the male Parson's Chameleon. I didn't want to waste the time of other passengers, so I spent only 5 minutes to take pictures. Billy was so big, SVL was more than 30 cm slightly, the weight was almost 1 kg! A huge boy! The same as the C. p. cristifer I found in Andasibe, they were both pretty calm when been disturbed (in other species, they were usually want to bite). We can find the same calm response on the Hundred Pacer (Deinagkistrodon acutus), they are not too aggressive when we get closer for pictures. Is it the so call "kingly way"? After I finished my photographing, I said good bye to Billy then went back to our Taxi-Brousse, kept on our hard way by the "dancing car". I knew, the day in the shaking Taxi-Brousse, there's one satisfied boy, at least.
這是世界最大,國王變色龍指名亞種 (Calumma parsonii parsonii)!就取名叫作Billy吧!我發現Billy的狀況真的是非常巧的不巧。那天早上我從Maroantsetra搭著特殊改裝過的一台越野型Taxi-Brousse (底盤離地至少六十公分高!),要前往南部一點的另一個小鎮Mananara。這段路不到一百公里,但是坐車需要一整天!不為別的,就是因為路況真的差到一個極致 (這段路況之差根據租我車子的大陸老闆形容,很可能就是馬島最爛的一段路)!搖搖晃晃的車子,加上和我共享"同一個"副駕駛座還有位大叔,真的是挺累的... 還好沿路上風景非常棒,某些區塊兩側森林也算完整,一路伴隨著Mantella屬蛙類的鳴唱,心情上也不致於太糟糕。一開始就遇到了幾隻變色龍過馬路,其中也不乏漂亮的公七彩變色龍。但是坐在Taxi-Brousse上,實在不方便也不好意思說我要拍變色龍請大家停車 (一停下來拍照,就等於要車上一堆人等了... 他們遇到變色龍會停車,車後有一位助手就會下來把變色龍移到路邊再上路,很不錯!)。所以我等於錯失了好幾次拍變色龍的機會... 心痛啊!但是在我老遠就看到這隻大的誇張、正在一邊搖晃一邊慢慢的過馬路的國王變色龍時,我已經管不了那麼多了... 忘情的喊出:「STOP!!(超大聲)... (小聲)Can you stop for a while please...?」司機雖然英文不太好,但是關鍵字聽的懂,加上也許是因為我剛剛在路上請他吃餅乾的關係,所以他同意了,把車停下讓我下去處理。我趕快把握時間下去把Billy抱起來 (媽呀,好重!) 放在路邊的樹枝上把握時間拍照了!但因為不想讓大家等太久所以總共只拍了約五分鐘,是唯一美中不足的地方... Billy吻肛長應該比30公分要多一點,重量應該直逼一公斤!非常厚實的大男孩!連同之前在Andasibe找到的C. p. cristifer,這兩隻野生的公國王變色龍被驚擾的時候都沒有太大反應 (其它變色龍通常會張嘴想要反咬),難道這就和穩重的百步蛇 (Deinagkistrodon acutus) 一樣,是所謂的「王者風範」嗎?結束拍攝之後和Billy道別上車,繼續我們一整天off-road的車程。那一天,在擁擠而顛頗的Taxi-Brousse中,至少有一個人是心滿意足的。 

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