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Peter Scott's painting of the Oldeani Monster

The Oldeani Monster is a supposedly lost species of chameleon found in Tanzania. On February 25, 1962, Peter Scott and John and Jane Hunter saw a large chameleon in the Ngorongoro Conversation Area near Oldeani Peak, Tazania. They captured it, and Scott took it back to England, where it lived for a full 18 months. Its remains were preserved a short time, with Scott taking them to several herpetology experts who were unable to determine the animal's identity. The remains of the chameleon were unfortunately lost at some point afterwards.

Description[]

The Oldeani Monster was a brown chameleon, with small red spots and a horizontal stripe across each flank. It had a small horn at the tip of its snout and had a long tail.

Rediscovery[]

The quest for the identity of the Oldeani Monster began when cryptozoologist Karl Shuker read Scott's diary account of the chameleon's discovery and viewed his painting of the animal, resulting in an interest in the creature. Upon contacting Scott's widow, Lady Philippa Scott, Shuker received several photographs of the chameleon, which were sent to German herpetologist Dr. Wolfgang Böhme for analysis. Dr. Böhme confirmed that the animal in the images was a Hanang hornless chameleon (Kinyongia uthmoelleri), an incredibly rare species of chameleon known at the time from only three specimens, with the most recent being collected in the same area as the Oldeani Monster. The Oldeani Monster thus constituted a previously unrecognized fourth specimen of the species. Since the rediscovery of the Monster, the chameleon has been maintained and bred in captivity.

Gallery[]

References[]

http://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2012/07/oldeani-monster-how-i-helped-to.html

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