radish
Emeritus Honorary Member
- Joined
- Aug 8, 2005
- Messages
- 230,060
- Reaction score
- 24,833
nano-chameleon 
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/wo...0210206-pu2rzvzvnzcwvh27px2igan4qu-story.html
Itty-bitty chameleon species discovered on Madagascar believed to be smallest reptile on Earth
Its ancestors once tromped the planet tens of millions of years ago as indisputable kings, but the recently discovered nano-chameleon is no larger than a sunflower seed.
An expedition team stumbled upon the teeny-weeny reptile on the island of Madagascar, reported BBC News.
“The new chameleon is only known from a degraded (mountainous) rainforest in northern Madagascar and might be threatened by extinctions,” explained the journal Scientific Reports.
Scientists believe the critters are the smallest reptiles on Earth, with the male nano-chameleon’s body length measuring just over half an inch long — the smallest of more than 11,000 known reptile species on Earth, according to Munich’s Bavarian State Collection of Zoology.
Even including the chameleon’s tail, the male still doesn’t hit the one-inch mark and can comfortably perch atop an adult’s fingernail.
But the female is drastically, by comparison, larger at nearly 1¼ inches long, noted the German institute.
Amazingly, researchers have discovered that the chameleons feed on mites, foraging on the rainforest floor. Due to their small size, they cling to blades of grass to avoid night predators.
Dr. Mark Scherz, one of the scientists involved in the discovery, called it an extreme case of miniaturization.
“So, this tiny new chameleon violates the pattern of the smallest species being found on small islands,” wrote Scherz for a blog post. “That suggests that something else is allowing (or) causing these chameleons to miniaturize.
Despite the joy of their find, researchers are urging the little lizard to be listed as critically endangered to help retain its habitat, noted the BBC.
“The nano-chameleon’s habitat has unfortunately been subject to deforestation, but the area was placed under protection recently, so the species will survive,” said scientist Oliver Hawlitschek.
https://www.nydailynews.com/news/wo...0210206-pu2rzvzvnzcwvh27px2igan4qu-story.html
Itty-bitty chameleon species discovered on Madagascar believed to be smallest reptile on Earth
Its ancestors once tromped the planet tens of millions of years ago as indisputable kings, but the recently discovered nano-chameleon is no larger than a sunflower seed.
An expedition team stumbled upon the teeny-weeny reptile on the island of Madagascar, reported BBC News.
“The new chameleon is only known from a degraded (mountainous) rainforest in northern Madagascar and might be threatened by extinctions,” explained the journal Scientific Reports.
Scientists believe the critters are the smallest reptiles on Earth, with the male nano-chameleon’s body length measuring just over half an inch long — the smallest of more than 11,000 known reptile species on Earth, according to Munich’s Bavarian State Collection of Zoology.
Even including the chameleon’s tail, the male still doesn’t hit the one-inch mark and can comfortably perch atop an adult’s fingernail.
But the female is drastically, by comparison, larger at nearly 1¼ inches long, noted the German institute.
Amazingly, researchers have discovered that the chameleons feed on mites, foraging on the rainforest floor. Due to their small size, they cling to blades of grass to avoid night predators.
Dr. Mark Scherz, one of the scientists involved in the discovery, called it an extreme case of miniaturization.
“So, this tiny new chameleon violates the pattern of the smallest species being found on small islands,” wrote Scherz for a blog post. “That suggests that something else is allowing (or) causing these chameleons to miniaturize.
Despite the joy of their find, researchers are urging the little lizard to be listed as critically endangered to help retain its habitat, noted the BBC.
“The nano-chameleon’s habitat has unfortunately been subject to deforestation, but the area was placed under protection recently, so the species will survive,” said scientist Oliver Hawlitschek.
