''Brookesia bonsi'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

chameleon Chameleons or chamaeleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of Old World lizards with 202 species described as of June 2015. The members of this family are best known for their distinct range of colors, bein ...

s, a lizard in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Chamaeleonidae. The species is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

, and was initially described by Guy A. Ramanantsoa in 1980. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

ranked this species as Critically Endangered.

Etymology

The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

, ''bonsi'', is in honor of

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

herpetologist Herpetology (from Greek ἑρπετόν ''herpetón'', meaning "reptile" or "creeping animal") is the branch of zoology concerned with the study of amphibians (including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians (gymnophiona)) and rept ...

Jacques Bons (born 1933).

Distribution and habitat

''Brookesia bonsi'' is endemic to

Namoroka National Park Namoroka National Park, formerly known as Tsingy de Namoroka Strict Nature Reserve, is a national park located in the northwestern part of Madagascar in the Mahajanga Province, specifically, the Soalala District. History Namoroka Strict Natur ...

Soalala District Soalala is a district in western Madagascar. It is a part of Boeny Region and borders the districts of Mitsinjo in northeast, Ambato-Boeni in east, Kandreho in south and Besalampy in west. The area is and the population was estimated to be 27,4 ...

Mahajanga Province Mahajanga was a former province of Madagascar that had an area of 150,023 km². It had a population of 1,896,000 (2004). Its capital was Mahajanga, the second largest city in Madagascar. Except for Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga Province bordere ...

, northern Madagascar. Its type locality is the Tsingy de Namoroka Strict Nature Reserve. It is found on and restricted to the more humid parts of the reserve. ''B. bonsi'' was found at elevations between

above mean sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

. It is believed to be found over an area less than , and many surveys in western Madagascar have failed to record this species.

Reproduction

''B. bonsi'' is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

Conservation status

Because of the small area in which it is found, the

has ranked ''B. bonsi'' as Critically Endangered because the habitat continues to decline due to agriculture and the collection of wood. During a 1996 survey, the species was not considered rare, but during 2002, the species was not found on a 15-day survey of the nature reserve.

Taxonomy

''Brookesia bonsi'' was originally described as a species new to science by herpetologist Guy A. Ramanantsoa in 1980. Authors who later published on this species were: Glaw and Vences (1994: 236), Nečas (1999: 276), and most recently

Townsend Townsend (pronounced tounʹ-zənd) or Townshend may refer to: Places United States *Camp Townsend, National Guard training base in Peekskill, New York *Townsend, Delaware *Townsend, Georgia *Townsend, Massachusetts, a New England town **Townsend ( ...

et al. (2009). According to the

Integrated Taxonomic Information System The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) is an American partnership of federal agencies designed to provide consistent and reliable information on the taxonomy of biological species. ITIS was originally formed in 1996 as an interagenc ...

(ITIS), the taxonomic status of this species is valid.

Etymology

Distribution and habitat

Reproduction

Conservation status

Taxonomy

References

Further reading