''Brookesia griveaudi'', commonly known as the Marojejy leaf chameleon, 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 ...

, a

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

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 ...

to northeastern Madagascar. It was described as a species new to science by Brygoo,

Blanc Blanc or le Blanc is a surname of French origin, meaning ''White''. Notable people with the surname include: * Adolphe-Edmond Blanc (1799-1850), French politician * Antoine Blanc (1792–1860), first Archbishop of New Orleans * Antoine le Blanc (1 ...

, and

Domergue Domergue is a French surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Faith Domergue (1924–1999), American film actress *François-Urbain Domergue (1745–1810), French grammarian and journalist *Jacques Domergue (born 1953), French politician ...

in 1974. It is listed as

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

by 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 ...

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 ...

, ''griveaudi'', is in honor of French entomologist

Paul Griveaud Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

(1907–1980), who worked in Madagascar.

Distribution and habitat

''B. griveaudi'' is endemic to northeastern Madagascar, and has a type locality of the Marojejy National Park and on the

Marojejy Massif Marojejy National Park () is a national park in the Sava region of northeastern Madagascar. It covers and is centered on the Marojejy Massif, a mountain chain that rises to an elevation of . Access to the area around the massif was restricted t ...

, in the region of

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

. ''B. griveaudi'' is found over an area of , beginning in

Masoala ''Masoala'' is a genus of flowering plant in the family Arecaceae. It contains the following species, both endemic to Madagascar:Jumelle, Henri Lucien. 1933. Annales du Musée Colonial de Marseille, sér. 5, 1(1): 8. * ''Masoala kona'' Beentje ...

(southwards) and ending at Daraina (northwards), and is found at an elevation of

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 ...

Conservation status

The

has listed ''B. griveaudi'' as

because the population of the species is spread out considerably, despite the area it covers. It is affected mainly by

logging Logging is the process of cutting, processing, and moving trees to a location for transport. It may include skidding, on-site processing, and loading of trees or logs onto trucks or skeleton cars. Logging is the beginning of a supply chain ...

and the slash-and-burn method of agriculture. The species is found in many protected places/areas, and the population is believed to be declining.

Description

During the day, the Marojejy leaf chameleon stays with its young and eggs.

Taxonomy

The species ''B. griveaudi'' was initially described by Brygoo, Blanc, and Domergue in 1974, and has been published on three times since: Glaw and Vences (1994: 236), Nečas (1999: 277), and, most recently, by Townsend et al. in 2009. ''B. griveaudi'' is commonly known as the Marojejy leaf chameleon, after the type locality of the species.

Etymology

Distribution and habitat

Conservation status

Description

Taxonomy

References

Further reading