Eleven new chameleon species found in Madagascar

The panther chameleon, Furcifer pardalis, lives in northern and eastern Madagascar Michel Michel C. Milinkovitch

Researchers from Switzerland and Madagascar have found that what used to be considered a single species of chameleon is actually 11 different species. 

A research team led by Michel Milinkovitch of the University of Geneva and collaborators from the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar have published their findings in the latest issue of the journal Molecular EcologyExternal link. 

The panther chameleon is known for its dramatic range of colours, but after analysing DNA samples from 324 individual reptiles, the scientists realised that they were actually dealing with 11 distinct genetic profiles. 

They hypothesised that the main colour in each pattern could be linked to an individual chameleon’s geographic zone. Once the DNA samples were analysed, the researchers found that the patterns could actually predict the chameleons’ genetic lineage, suggesting that individuals from different zones were different enough to warrant their own species classifications. 

The evolution of so many subtly distinct species could be due to low levels of interbreeding among chameleons in different geographic zones in Madagascar, a country that is famous for its staggering biodiversity. The island is home to many thousands of species of plants, birds, amphibians and invertebrates, 80-90% of which exist nowhere else on earth. 

The 11 new chameleon species join a host of other organisms that were discovered across the globe in 2014: all together, scientists named and classified 18,000 new species. The SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry has employed an international committee of taxonomists to select ten of the most interesting speciesExternal link from this massive list – they include a cartwheeling spider, a parasitic plant and a very pretty sea slug.