Calumma gallus is a small chameleon from eastern Madagascar that scientists still don’t fully understand.
But thanks to a new study led by German herpetologist Frank Glaw, scientists have a new grasp on the color-changing creatures.
In the study, which was published in "Salamandra: The German Journal of Herpetology" on October 30, Glaw and his colleagues revealed that two subtypes of chameleons in the Calumma gallus species complex, long mistaken for each other, belong to categories entirely unto themselves.
By sequencing old museum specimens, they discovered that one chameleon — C. nasutum — actually belongs within the C. gallus species complex, even though it doesn’t have the long nose-like structure usually seen in the group.
The populations that were once labeled C. nasutum are now described as a new species, Calumma hofreiteri, Hofreiter’s chameleon.
The researchers also described a new northern species, Calumma pinocchio, which is genetically quite different and has a long but smoother-edged nose appendage.
Pinocchio chameleons boast long, slender nose appendages similar to their namesake — the famed fairy tale character created by Italian author Carlo Collodi in 1883.
“The elongated and pointed rostral appendage of this chameleon is reminiscent of Pinocchio’s long nose, which grows when he lies, although in C. pinocchio the appendage may well be an honest signal of communication reflecting male fitness,” Glaw and his peers observed cheekily.
When it comes to telling the three distinct species apart, it’s all in the nose.
Chameleons of the general Calumma gallus have serrated rostral appendages branching off from their nose, almost like small thorns, whereas the Pinocchio chameleon’s appendage is long and smooth, and the Hofreiter’s chameleon’s appendage has a rounded end.
“The genetic analyses are conclusive: the nose chameleons have virtually fooled previous research,” Glaw, a curator at the Bavarian State Collections of Natural History, said in a statement.
“Our study also revealed that the nasal appendages can change quickly in terms of length, shape, and color. Their evolution is possibly driven by the respective preferences of females in mate selection.”
When it comes to protecting these newly named chameleons, Glaw and his team said they simply needed more data.
“Proposing a Red List status for the species discussed herein is hindered by several remaining uncertainties about their distribution and status,” Glaw wrote, in reference to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species.
To their best estimation, the Hofreiter’s chameleon may have a fairly wide range, but most of the five known locations are small forest patches that are threatened by deforestation. Based on its limited distribution and ongoing habitat loss, it may qualify as Vulnerable.
As for the Pinocchio chameleon, they surmised that they prefer forest edges — but still need real forest to survive.
“In Northern Central East of Madagascar,” the researchers wrote, “rainforests at lower elevations are highly fragmented and the remaining fragments are under constant pressure from slash-and-burn agriculture.”
Therefore, they explained, the Pinocchio chameleon may require Endangered status.
Overall, the researchers found that the nose structures in these chameleons evolved quickly and that further fieldwork is required to reveal just how many species are out there — and how they’re all related.
They also said it requires a visit to the past, in learning from ancient chameleon samples.
In fact, a chameleon collected way back in 1836 was pivotal to Glaw’s research.
“The study shows the great potential of the new museomics methods to correctly identify historically collected specimens, especially in species complexes,” said study co-author Miguel Vences from the Technical University of Braunschweig.
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Header image via Frank Glaw (ZSM/SNSB) (CC BY-SA 4.0)
