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If youre thinking of T. nairoca (I think thats the proper spelling) then no that is not another form of hoehnelli. Thats a completely different species, and has a different characteristics but looks very similar.
Thanks. The patterns are interesting and ever changing.
I suppose I don't know for certain if this is a "highland" variety. I purchased the parents from an import of Kenyan Highland animals, and I have trusted in that. I know that the range of hoehnelii varieties is extensive. I have always assumed that the smaller size, and reduced casque and rostral (as compared to Ugandan animals) were traits indicative of animals collected from areas higher in elevation than Nairobi.
Wherever their origins, they grew up in the "highlands" of Idaho - so they have that going for them .
I would not mind researching to finding out positively how to ID the two kinds of Hoehnelii.
Wherever their origins, they grew up in the "highlands" of Idaho - so they have that going for them .
There is a lot of evidence that Trioceros hoehnelii is likely a superspecies. Already a couple distinct species within this group have been described and split off (T. narraioca & T. nyirit) and it will only be a matter of time, I'm sure, until more are recognized.
Up until recently, there had been two recognized subspecies of T. hoehnelii: T. h. hoehnelii and T. h. altaeelgonis. T. h. altaeelgonis was regarded as a high elevation form from Mt. Elgon but recently the validity of this subspecies has been question (I don't have my copy of Tilbury's book with me to check what he says about it but I believe he talks about it). At this point, the highland and lowland designation and differentiation between the two will likely depend on what mountain range the specimens originate as their morphological differences likely vary from mountain to mountain. Frequently, however, the highland forms tend to have rougher scalation and are more colorful.
Chris