''Brookesia valerieae'' 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 ...
, a lizard in the
family Chamaeleonidae. The species is
endemic to
Madagascar. It was first described by
Raxworthy in 1991. The
IUCN
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 ...
have classed this species as
endangered, and it is affected by
slash-and-burn agriculture. It is not a protected species.
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 ...
, ''valerieae'', is in honor of Valerie M. Raxworthy.
Geographic range
''B. valerieae'' is endemic to the
Manongarivo Special Reserve
Manongarivo Reserve is a wildlife reserve in the North-West of Madagascar in the region of Diana.
Manongarivo is home to both the Sambirano mouse lemur and the Sambirano woolly lemur.
Geography
The reserve has a surface of 64,356 ha and is sit ...
(Manongarivo Reserve) in the region of
Diana, Madagascar, which is also the species'
type locality.
It has only been found at Manongarivo and the
Ramena River
The Ramena River is a river of northwestern Madagascar in the region of Diana. It has its sources at the Maromokotra and is the main affluent of the Sambirano River
The Sambirano is a river of northwestern Madagascar in the region of Diana. ...
, which are away from each other. If the species covers the whole area between the reserve and the river, it will be in area, but this has not been confirmed.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat of ''B. valerieae'' is
forest, at altitudes of .
Reproduction
''B. valerieae'' 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
The International Union for Conservation of Nature have classed ''B. valerieae'' as an endangered species on their Red List of Threatened Species, as the scale of habitat loss is very high in that area, and is mainly affected by the slash-and-burn method of agriculture.
Taxonomy
''B. valerieae'' was initially described by English herpetologist Christopher John Raxworthy in 1991. Since 1991, it has been published on under that name at least three times: Glaw and Vences (1994: 239), Nečas (1999: 277), and Townsend et al. (2009).[ According to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the taxonomic status of the species is valid.]
References
Further reading
* Glaw F, Vences M (2006). ''A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Third Edition''. Cologne, Germany: Vences and Glaw Verlag. 496 pp. .
* Nečas P (1999). ''Chameleons: Nature's hidden jewels''. Frankfurt am Main, Germany: Edition Chimira. 348 pp. (Europe), (USA, Canada). (''Brookesia valerieae'', p. 277).
* Raxworthy CJ (1991). "Field observations on some dwarf chameleons (''Brookesia spp.'') from rainforest areas of Madagascar, with the description of a new species". ''Journal of Zoology, London'' 224: 11-25. (''Brookesia valerieae'', new species).
* Townsend TM, Vieites DR, Glaw F, Vences M (2009). "Testing Species-Level Diversification Hypotheses in Madagascar: The Case of Microendemic ''Brookesia'' Leaf Chameleons". ''Systematic Biology'' 58 (6): 641–656.
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2926150
V
Endemic fauna of Madagascar
Reptiles of Madagascar
Endangered fauna of Africa
Reptiles described in 1991
Taxa named by Christopher John Raxworthy