Miniature Chameleon discovered in Madagascar
Image: BBC
A research team from the Munich Zoologische Staatssammlung working at night during Madagascar's rainy season have discovered one of the world's smallest lizards. The miniature chameleon, dubbed Brookesia micra, only reaches a maximum length of 29mm. The research team also found three more new species in the north of the island, and their findings are recorded in the journal PLoS ONE.
The team, led by Dr Frank Glaw, already had specialist experience of miniature species. They carefully explored likely potential habitats with headlamps and torches to look for roosting sites. "They mostly live in the leaf litter in the day... But at night they climb up and then you can spot them," explained Dr Glaw. Each of the new species was found in very small territories, one of which was only a single square kilometre.
The smallest of the species discovered by the team was found on a remote limestone islet. The team believe that the miniature chameleons may represent a particularly pronounced case of island dwarfism, whereby a species gradually becomes smaller over evolutionary timescales in response to the restrictions of small island habitats. Dr Glaw also speculated on the possibility that Brookesia micra is an example of a “two-island effect”. "It is possible that the big island of Madagascar has produced the general group of dwarf chameleons and the very small island has produced the tiny species" he said.
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