Alexl
Avid Member
I would like to share the following paper with you, on which the first author David Prötzel has been working for years now. It was published in February 2020 and it's really, really worth a read.
Untangling the trees: Revision of the Calumma nasutum complex (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae)
Authors: David Prötzel, Mark D. Scherz, Fanomezana M. Ratsoavina, Miguel Vences, Frank Glaw
Short summary
Three new chameleons species from Madagascar have been described:
- Calumma emelinae occuring on Makira plateau and around Andasibe region
- Calumma ratnasariae from Bealanana
- Calumma tjiasmantoi from regions between Ranomafana and Andohahela
For a long time a lot of different chameleon populations were recorded as Calumma nasutum or Calumma cf. nasutum. The paper revises the descriptions of the following species:
- Calumma nasutum from the regions between Anosibe an'Ala and Andasibe
- Calumma radamanus from the region around Maroantsetra, Nosy Mangabe, Tampolo, Masoala
- Calumma fallax from eastern Madagascar between Mandraka, Ranomafana and Andohahela
So: What we generally used to think of as Calumma nasutum is now Calumma radamanus. Calumma fallax remains fallax. A fallax-like animal from Andasibe is the "real" Calumma nasutum. And all former "nasutum" around the bay of Antongil are now Calumma radamanus. By the way, it is very interesting that now tens of different populations, Calumma cf. radamanus, remain, which need further clarification. I am super curious what will be the future of these populations and how many species still "hide" as Calumma cf. radamanus.
Where to get the paper: https://www.senckenberg.de/de/wissenschaft/publikationen/wissenschaftliche-zeitschriften/vertebrate-zoology/archiv/vz-70-1-03/
Untangling the trees: Revision of the Calumma nasutum complex (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae)
Authors: David Prötzel, Mark D. Scherz, Fanomezana M. Ratsoavina, Miguel Vences, Frank Glaw
Short summary
Three new chameleons species from Madagascar have been described:
- Calumma emelinae occuring on Makira plateau and around Andasibe region
- Calumma ratnasariae from Bealanana
- Calumma tjiasmantoi from regions between Ranomafana and Andohahela
For a long time a lot of different chameleon populations were recorded as Calumma nasutum or Calumma cf. nasutum. The paper revises the descriptions of the following species:
- Calumma nasutum from the regions between Anosibe an'Ala and Andasibe
- Calumma radamanus from the region around Maroantsetra, Nosy Mangabe, Tampolo, Masoala
- Calumma fallax from eastern Madagascar between Mandraka, Ranomafana and Andohahela
So: What we generally used to think of as Calumma nasutum is now Calumma radamanus. Calumma fallax remains fallax. A fallax-like animal from Andasibe is the "real" Calumma nasutum. And all former "nasutum" around the bay of Antongil are now Calumma radamanus. By the way, it is very interesting that now tens of different populations, Calumma cf. radamanus, remain, which need further clarification. I am super curious what will be the future of these populations and how many species still "hide" as Calumma cf. radamanus.
Where to get the paper: https://www.senckenberg.de/de/wissenschaft/publikationen/wissenschaftliche-zeitschriften/vertebrate-zoology/archiv/vz-70-1-03/
