Help in identification of Madagascar chameleons

[Tim Stewart]

I am working on a Blurb book of photographs taken during a trip to Madagascar in October 2011. I have identified the birds but am having difficulty with the chameleons. I am attaching five photographs and would appreciate any help in identifying the species.

 

[camimom]

i think the first two are oustelots.

not sure of the other 3.

 

[Solid Snake]

#1 is a male Furcifer verrucosus, #2 is a female of the same species.

Id have to look up the others, Ive seen them before, cant remember the name ;/

Nice shots of them though!

 

[Chris Anderson]

The first two are Furcifer oustaleti. The last three could be a couple different species depending on where they were found. Can you give locality info for them?

Chris

 

[camimom]

yay I got it right! haha

 

[Solid Snake]

BBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Im never IDing anything again!

 

[Tim Stewart]

The last three were in Ranomafana National Park

 

[showjet95]

1st 2 Oustalets, then glawi or gastrotania?, then the last 2 I would say brevicornis.

 

[Kent67]

I'm thinking Calumma crypticum for 4 and 5. I'm on my phone but that's what the male seems to be.

Chris, didn't we discuss these weird ones with the large dorsal spines a few years ago?

 

[Chris Anderson]

Alright, the first two are Furcifer oustaleti, the third is Calumma glawi, and the last two appear to be juvenile or subadult Calumma crypticum.

Chris

 

[Chris Anderson]

Chris, didn't we discuss these weird ones with the large dorsal spines a few years ago?

It seems to be a characteristic of juvenile animals in this group. The adults don't seem to have any evidence of them. Unfortunately the differentiating features between C. brevicorne and C. crypticum from the most recent revision aren't particularly reliable and not much has been done on the variation within either species, let alone their ontogeny.

Chris

 

[Kent67]

I remember that being the hypothesis before but doesn't the animal in #3 here look large enough that you wouldn't expect such a drastic change in form over just a few more months?

 

[Chris Anderson]

I remember that being the hypothesis before but doesn't the animal in #3 here look large enough that you wouldn't expect such a drastic change in form over just a few more months?

Hard to guess just how big he is but I'd agree that he's in the later stages of being a juvenile. Wish we new more about how these guys develop and the variation they show.

Chris

 

[Tim Stewart]

More chameleons

Thank you for your interest and your quick responses. I have a final five pictures to submit. The first three (1165, 1277 & 1591) were taken at Ankarafantsika and the last two (8862 & 8880) are from Andasibe-Mantadia.

 

[Kent67]

First two are F. oustaleti again, #3 is a female F. rhinoceratus, #4 I believe is Brookesia superciliaris, and #5 C. brevicorne.

Fun game! Do you have any more pics from Ranomafana or Mantadia you'd like to share? Did you go to the farms and get any pics of the chameleons there?

 

[Kent67]

I'm on my phone but that's what the male seems to be.

And now that I'm not in the sun looking at the pics on my phone I see that wasn't a male.

 

[Chris Anderson]

First two are F. oustaleti again, #3 is a female F. rhinoceratus, #4 I believe is Brookesia superciliaris, and #5 C. brevicorne.

Fun game! Do you have any more pics from Ranomafana or Mantadia you'd like to share? Did you go to the farms and get any pics of the chameleons there?

Yep, nailed it.

Chris

 

[Kent67]

Yep, nailed it.

Chris

Haha! Thanks for not calling me out on the male/female thing!

 

[Tim Stewart]

I have found photos of five more chameleons from my trip. These really are the final ones.

The first (0271) is from Anjaha Community Conservation Site. The second & third (0590 & 0702) were taken at Ranomafana. The fourth (1590) is from Ankarafantsika and the fifth (8843) is from Andasibe.

I have pictures of geckos and iguanids if they are of interest. Thank you again for your help in identifying these fascinating creatures.

 

[Tim Stewart]

My apologies, I found one more (0573) from Ranomafana.