This is the nanochameleon, the smallest reptile in the world discovered in Madagascar

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Image of a nanochameleon, a new species of chameleon discovered in northern Madagascar and the smallest male reptile of nearly 11,500 known species at 13.5 millimeters in body length. EFE / Frank Glaw / Zoologische Staatssammlung München
Image of a nanochameleon, a new species of chameleon discovered in northern Madagascar and the smallest male reptile of nearly 11,500 known species at 13.5 millimeters in body length. EFE / Frank Glaw / Zoologische Staatssammlung München

An international team of researchers announced that they had discovered a nanochameleon, a new species of chameleon that fits on the tip of a human finger because its body is the size of a peanut.

“With a body length of only 13.5 millimeters (from the mouth to the base of the tail) and a total length of almost 22 millimeters (including the tail), the male nanochameleon is the smallest known of all the higher vertebrates.”, Munich State Zoological Collection (ZSM) researcher and lead author of the study, Frank Glaw, explains in a statement.

This new chameleon species (Brookesia nana) was discovered in the north of the island of Madagascar (East Africa) by German-Malagasy researchers under the direction of the ZSM.

“The island effect, according to which species are smaller on small islands, is not a compelling explanation for these mountain dwellers,” explains Fano-mezana Ratsoavina, a researcher at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar.

The female is considerably larger, with a body length of 19 millimeters and a total length of 29.

According to scientists, they have not been able to find more specimens of the new species at this time, whose habitat is several square kilometers, according to their research.

“Unfortunately, the habitat of the nanochameleon is badly affected by deforestation, but the area has recently been placed under protection to allow the species to survive,” says Oliver Hawlitschek, scientist at the Hamburg Center for Natural History, who is involved in the study.

Image of the nanochameleon.
Image of the nanochameleon.

To determine the age of the specimens, the researchers analyzed their genitals, after which they discovered two eggs in the female’s body.

To find out if the male is sexually mature as well, the team examined the animal’s genitalia, known as hemipenes, which are found in all lizards and snakes and are often important characteristics, according to scientists, to distinguish related species.

The researchers also compared the length of their genitals with 51 other species of chameleons from Madagascar and discovered a tendency in the smallest chameleon species to have the largest male genitalia in relation to body size.

In the case of the nanochameleon, the height was 18.5 percent of the body height, the fifth highest value of all chameleon species studied, and in the species B. tuberculata, which is also very small, the genitals accounted for almost a third of body length.

According to the researchers, this may be due to the size difference between the sexes – the so-called sexual dimorphism– that in the larger chameleon species the males are usually much larger than the females, while in the smaller species the opposite is the case.

“As a result, extremely miniaturized males need relatively larger genitalia to mate successfully with their much larger females,” explains Miguel Vences of the Technical University of Braunschweig.

With information from EFE and AFP

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