Chamaeleo calcaricarens has variously been treated as a full species or as a subspecies of C. africanus. Largen and Spawls (2006) examined records attributed to both species, and found that the only available diagnostic character is unreliable, and restricted to males. These authors synonymized C. calcaricarens with C. africanus, and while acknowledging that C. africanus so defined may represent a species complex, argued that treating C. calcaricarens as a valid species on the basis of existing diagnostic characters would make it difficult or impossible to attribute many Ethiopian records to either form with certainty.

C. calcaricarens was nonetheless accepted as a valid species without comment by Tilbury and Tolley (2009); Tilbury (2010) indicated that hemipenal morphology reliably diagnosed the two species, and formally resurrected that species. Tilbury (2010) did not consider C. africanus as ranging into the Horn of Africa, but the basis for this is unclear. This action is supported by evidence from a recent molecular phylogeny of the Chamaeleonidae that C. africanus from Niger and C. calcaricarens from Borama in Somalia are distinct at the species level (Tolley et al. 2013). Trape et al. (2012) apparently overlooked the resurrection of C. calcaricarens in describing C. africanus as ranging east as far as Somalia.

European regional assessment: Not Applicable (NA)
EU 27 regional assessment: Not Applicable (NA)

Although this species was introduced before 1500 into Europe and the EU27, its European subpopulation is marginal (<1% of the global population) with respect to the global population of the species, and it is considered Not Applicable for the European Red List.

Within the European region this species is known only from an introduced population in a tiny part of the southwestern Peloponnese in southern Greece, from where it was first reported in the late 1990s (Böhme et al. 1998). These authors proposed that it was likely to have been introduced in historic times as a result of trade with Egypt, as it most closely resembles a subpopulation in the Nile Delta (but appears sufficiently distinct to suggest a period of isolation), although the available data is sufficient only to conclude that a reproducing population had been established "at least for several decades" by the time of its discovery (Böhme et al. 1998).

Its nesting habitat in Europe was until recently limited to the coastal sand dunes in and around Divari (Maneas et al. 2019) in which suitable habitat covers an area of about 18 ha (Dimaki 2008) much of which is fragmented or exposed to edge effects along roads (Harrysson 2014). Two additional subpopulations were identified in the western Peloponnese by Dimaki et al. (2015), both resulting from recent human-mediated translocations; these are not mapped due to concern about high levels of collection (Dimaki et al. 2015).

This species African range extends from Egypt (restricted to the Nile Delta, and an apparently introduced population in Alexandria and the lower Nile valley) to Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon and Gabon (Baha El Din 2001).

This is a rare species in Greece (Dimaki et al. 2015). Based on these authors' results of line transects between 1998-2003 and 2011-2013, population estimates of the African chameleon in Pylos ranged from 59 to 365 individuals.

In Greece this species is reliant on coastal dunes used as nesting habitat within the Gialova Lagoon, which has historically been classed as a brackish wetland and, following human alterations since 1960, is now better-described as a "seasonally saline wetland" (Maneas et al. 2019). Chameleons are most active between July and September, corresponding to their breeding and nesting period (Maneas et al. 2019). Eggs are buried in sand and incubation lasts for 11 months (Maneas et al. 2019).

This species has been recorded from salt marshes, sand dunes and maquis shrubland. Animals are found climbing in vegetation such as reeds and shrubs. It has sometimes been found climbing in large trees. It is sometimes found on the ground in sandy areas. It has been recorded from traditionally cultivated agricultural land and rural gardens. In Greece, the females produce a single clutch of between four and 43 eggs per year.

The Gialova Lagoon has undergone a substantial human-induced change from 1960 onwards, transitioning from a brackish to a saline seasonal wetland, largely resulting from changes in water management driven by tourism expansion (Maneas et al. 2019). Although this is expected to have "profound" impacts on local wildlife and vegetation (Maneas et al. 2019), it is unclear whether this habitat change impacts the lizard. It is more directly at risk from tourist pressure as the peak tourist season coincides with the species' breeding activity (Maneas et al. 2019). Road mortality of adults has been recorded but a more serious population-level threat is believed to exist from year-round vehicle access to the dune system, which exposes nests to damage and destruction at all stages of their 11-month development period (Maneas et al. 2019). The illegal collection as pets is considered an additional threat to the Greek subpopulations (Dimaki et al. 2015).

Collection for the pet trade is considered a threat.

In Greece, the species is present in the Yalova Pilos protected area. Monitoring of population trends and the impact of harvesting is also needed. Research into translocation within the Peloponnese for conservation purposes was recommended by Harrysson (2014), however it is unclear whether the recently-identified translocated subpopulations are accidental or the result of deliberate conservation action. Further taxonomic studies are needed for this species. Maneas et al. (2019) reports that "much attention" has been given to conservation actions targeting this species in the Gialova Lagoon (Greece), as this site is its only European nesting habitat and the species is listed as CR in the Greek Red List in 2009, but provide no details.