Panther chameleons more than one species?

[guanagator]

What are the experts thoughts on this study?
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.13241/abstract

Tissue samples indicate little gene flow between populations and show potential for 11 distinct species.

 

[Alb123]

Yes, not an expert here, but did read on this study a few months ago saying 11 distinct species of panther chameleons instead of one species only separated by locale.

 

[Matt Vanilla Gorilla]

And yet, all the Panthers can interbreed and produce fertile offspring? Maby they are not 11 species?

 

[Alb123]

Well.. I guess in some cases it does work. Humans + Neanderthals, humans + denisovans, dogs and wolves, dogs and coyotes, etc... Heck, I might even have a mt. Meru jacksons and t. Sternfeldi cross chameleon.

 

[guanagator]

Producing offspring with each other doesn't make them the same species, in fact the many reports of sterile crosses can be viewed as an argument for separate species. Like Alb mentioned many hybrids exist between species. In this case with the relatively recent genetic isolation of these haplotyoes it would seem to make sense that they can still produce offspring. In the wild continued deforestation and development may further isolate the founding populations and accelerate the process while in the pet market mislabeling and cross breeding have the opposite effect. Like the studies authors pointed out its very hard to determine the females locale visually.