Taxonomic notes: Once formerly considered as a subspecies R. marshalli marshalli Broadley, 1971, but phylogenetic studies confirm that this taxon is a separate species (Matthee et al. 2004).

This species is found only in the forest fragments in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and adjacent Mozambique (Tilbury 2010, Tolley and Burger 2007). Although this area stretches over almost 4,500 km², but based on GoogleEarth satellite imagery only ca. 540 km² of forest remains (K. Tolley 2013).

There is no abundance information for this species. It occurs in the remaining forest patches in the Chimanimani and Vumba Mountains in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe and in adjacent Mozambique, and this area is heavily transformed. Because this species is confined to montane forest and this habitat is under ongoing pressure, it is presumed both to occur as a severely fragmented population, and to be undergoing declines. It is unlikely that any movement between fragments is possible because this species is a habitat specialist.

This species is a forest specialist and does not tolerate transformed landscapes. According to Tilbury (2010), this species can be locally abundant, but it is not commonly observed in the dry/cool season. At night animals perch in various types of vegetation in forest, usually from a few centimetres up to several metres above the ground.

As no Rhampholeon species (with the exception of R. spinosus) are listed on CITES, annual CITES export quotas and CITES trade data for this species are lacking. This species, however, is not known to be present in the captive market.

The forest patches where this species occurs are relatively widely distributed across the greater landscape, but there are substantial impacts on the individual forest patches due to encroachment and transformation (Tilbury 2010), resulting in heavy impacts across its entire range. Only part of its range falls within protected areas, namely Chimanimani and Nyanga National Parks, Bunga Forest Botanical Reserve in the Vumba Mountains, whereas other areas are under pressure from habitat transformation due to timber extraction and agriculture (Tilbury 2010).

• 2.1.2 Small-holder farming
• 5.3.3 Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]

Only part of its range falls within protected areas, namely Chimanimani and Nyanga National Parks, Bunga Forest Botanical Reserve in the Vumba Mountains, whereas other areas are under pressure from habitat transformation due to timber extraction and agriculture (Tilbury 2010). Conservation of forest habitat would benefit this species.

• 1.1 Site/area protection

This species list listed as Vulnerable because there are tangible ongoing threats to the size of the area of occupancy which at present is estimated at only 540 km² (the extent of occurrence is also only 10,400 km², so within the threshold for the Vulnerable category). In addition, it is severely fragmented, with a small likelihood that individuals could colonize fragments as they would have to traverse large tracts of unsuitable habitat. Given this species' size and life history, this is unlikely. It also does not tolerate transformed landscapes.

• Matthee, C., Tilbury, C.R. and Townsend, T. 2004. A phylogenetic review of the African leaf chameleons: genus Rhampholeon (Chamaeleonidae): the role of vicariance and climate change in speciation. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 271: 1967-1975.
• Tilbury, C.R. 2010. Chameleons of Africa: An Atlas, Including the Chameleons of Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt.
• Tolley, K. and Burger, M. 2007. Chameleons of southern Africa. Struik Publishers, Cape Town.