{"id":3849,"date":"2021-08-10T12:03:45","date_gmt":"2021-08-10T12:03:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/?p=3849"},"modified":"2021-08-10T12:02:38","modified_gmt":"2021-08-10T12:02:38","slug":"lost-to-the-world-rare-chameleon-is-found-in-malawi-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/lost-to-the-world-rare-chameleon-is-found-in-malawi-2","title":{"rendered":"Lost to the world, rare Chameleon is found in Malawi"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Malawi<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>The world\u2019s rare chameleon, lost to science, has been found clinging to life in a Malawian forest patch. At only 5.5 centimetres\u2019 or 2.1 inches) long, the critically endangered Chapman\u2019s pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon chapmanorum) lives in the low-elevated rainforest of the Malawi Hills.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one of the world\u2019s rarest chameleons and one of the most threatened, losing its territory because of agricultural expansion. The rare chameleon was first described in 1992 by herpetologist Colin Tilbury and was feared to be extinct.<\/p>\n

However, a survey done by researchers from the South African Biodiversity Institute in 2016, whose results are now being published for the first time, has found populations of the small reptiles living in remaining patches of the forest.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are mostly brown, but they can change to quite beautiful blues and greens with little dots all over them and that\u2019s probably a way of communicating with each other,\u201d the study\u2019s lead author Krystal Tolley said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cOther chameleon species can be hysterical, hissing and biting, but pygmy chameleons are gentle and just beautiful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Using historical (1984-1985) and recent (2019) Google Earth satellite imagery of the Malawi Hills and another geographical information system, the researchers estimated about 80% of the Malawi Hills forest had been destroyed from 1984 to 2019.<\/p>\n

This significantly altered the populations of the Chapman\u2019s pygmy chameleon (along with other animals inhabiting the same area). The team also visited the forest in 2016 and found that while the species was severely endangered, it wasn\u2019t extinct yet.<\/p>\n

They saw seven adult chameleons along a footpath inside the first forest path, 10 inside a site six kilometres southwest of the first, and 21 adults inside a forest patch near Mikundi \u2013 where 37 chameleons had been released in 1998 to try to safeguard the species.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first one we found was in the transition zone on the forest edge, where there are some trees but mostly maize and cassava plants,\u201d Tolley said in a statement. \u201cWhen we found it, we got goosebumps and just started jumping around.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t know if we would get any more, but once we got into the forest there were plenty, although I don\u2019t know how long that will last.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following their discovery, the authors went to the lab and carried out a genetic analysis, finding that the chameleons\u2019 genetic diversity was normal in comparison to that of other chameleons.<\/p>\n

But there were many differences in genetic structure between populations in different areas. This suggests the fragmentation of the forest disrupted the chameleons\u2019 breeding ability.<\/p>\n

Chameleons live mainly in Africa and the nearby island of Madagascar, and most species inhabit rainforests. As rainforests are fragmented by savanna, the chameleons have lived isolated from each other for millions of years. This has caused populations to evolve into distinct species that are highly adapted to forest life.<\/p>\n

If the forest disappears, they are essentially doomed. And that\u2019s what\u2019s happening to many species, with growing deforestation rates in many countries in Africa. Nearly 40% of 218 chameleon species are threatened with extinction, with another 19% considered near-threatened.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why researchers are calling for comprehensive measures to protect them. \u201cUrgent conservation action is needed, including halting of forest destruction and recovery of habitat to promote connectivity,\u201d Tolley and her team wrote in their study.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlthough part of the Malawi Hills falls within a Key Biodiversity Area (Matandwe Forest Reserve) most of the forest falls outside the reserve boundary, and the effectiveness of the forest reserve is questionable,\u201d further wrote Tolley. The study was published in the journal Oryx.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. The world\u2019s rare chameleon, lost to science, has been found clinging to life in a Malawian forest patch. At only 5.5 centimetres\u2019 or 2.1 inches) long, the critically endangered Chapman\u2019s pygmy chameleon (Rhampholeon chapmanorum) lives in the low-elevated rainforest of the Malawi Hills. It\u2019s one of the world\u2019s rarest chameleons and one […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":3848,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,9,13],"tags":[233,371,1660,234,1662],"class_list":["post-3849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-miscellaneous","category-social","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-malawi","tag-krystal-tolley","tag-malawi","tag-worlds-rare-chameleon"],"yoast_head":"\nLost to the world, rare Chameleon is found in Malawi - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The world\u2019s rare chameleon, lost to science, has been found clinging to life in a Malawian forest patch. 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