''Brookesia confidens'', also known as the leaf chameleon, is one of the world's smallest species of

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. It 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 ...

to the Ankarana Nature Reserve (Ankarana National Park) in Madagascar. It was first described in 2012 by F. Glaw, J. Koehler, T.M. Townsend and M. Vences.

Distribution and habitat

Found in northern Madagascar, ''B. confidens'' is one of the world's smallest chameleons. It was discovered in the Ankarana National Nature Reserve. It was first described in 2012 by Glaw, Koehler, Townsend and Vences. The nature reserve where ''B. confidens'' can be found on is well-protected. Little

habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

is currently occurring that could impact the species.

Description

''Brookesia confidens'' is smaller than half of a human finger, and is roughly the size of a wedding ring. The snout–vent length of males is between , and the total length is between . The females are slightly larger, and have a snout-vent length between , and a full length between . It is the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

of ''

Brookesia tuberculata The Mount d'Ambre leaf chameleon (''Brookesia tuberculata'') is a diminutive chameleon from far northern Madagascar. Similar species A 1999 paper in the ''Journal of Zoology'' disputed a 1995 paper which considered this species and '' B. peyrie ...

'' (Mount d'Ambre leaf chameleon). It is just larger than ''

Brookesia micra ''Brookesia micra'', also known as the Nosy Hara leaf chameleon is a species of chameleons from the islet of Nosy Hara in Antsiranana, Madagascar. At the time of its discovery, it was the smallest known chameleon and among the smallest reptiles ...

''. It looks identical to '' Brookesia desperata,

'' and ''

Brookesia tristis ''Brookesia tristis'' is a species of chameleons. It is endemic to Montagne des Français, Madagascar, and is an endangered species due to the decline of its habitat. It was named after the French word "triste" meaning sad to provoke thought rega ...

''.

Taxonomy

''Brookesia confidens'' is commonly known as the leaf chameleon.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1188618 C Endemic fauna of Madagascar Reptiles of Madagascar Reptiles described in 2012 Taxa named by Frank Glaw Taxa named by Jörn Köhler Taxa named by Miguel Vences