''Brookesia nana'', also known as the nano-chameleon, is a 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 ...

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 montane rainforests in northern

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 ...

. Described in 2021, it could represent the world's smallest reptile. Unlike some chameleons, ''Brookesia nana'' does not change colors. The species was discovered by

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 ...

Frank Glaw Frank Rainer Glaw (born 22 March 1966 in Düsseldorf) is a German herpetologist working at the Zoologische Staatssammlung München. Glaw studied biology in Cologne from 1987, where he completed his diploma. Thereafter, he attended the Universit ...

and other German researchers in 2021 in the rainforest on the Sorata massif in northern Madagascar. ''Brookesia nana'' is not

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the Animal locomotion, locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. Th ...

, as it tends to inhabit the forest floor. It is likely that the species is endangered due to

deforestation in Madagascar Deforestation in Madagascar is an ongoing environmental issue. Deforestation creates agricultural or pastoral land but can also result in desertification, water resource degradation, biodiversity erosion and habitat loss, and soil loss. It has b ...

. Miniaturism is believed to evolve from habitat loss.

Description

The nano-chameleon is blotchy brown in color. Adult males measure 22 mm (0.87 inch) in total length (including tail), while females are slightly larger at 29 mm (1.1 inches). Like other ''

Brookesia ''Brookesia'' is a genus of chameleons, endemic to Madagascar, that range from small to very small in size, and are known collectively as leaf chameleons (though this name also commonly is used for species in the genera ''Rieppeleon'' and ''Rham ...

'' species, females are generally larger than the males. The reasons for its diminutive size are currently unknown, as many vertebrates grow as they mature.

References

Brookesia Lizards of Africa Reptiles of Madagascar Endemic fauna of Madagascar Reptiles described in 2021 Taxa named by Frank Glaw Taxa named by Mark D. Scherz Taxa named by Andolalao Rakotoarison Taxa named by Miguel Vences {{Chameleon-stub