Calumma pinocchio
After all, there was another… and another… “Genetic analyzes are conclusive: nose chameleons have practically eluded previous research.”
Discovered around 150 years ago, the chameleon “Pinocchio”with its long nose, has become one of Madagascar’s most iconic reptiles. Now, seriously: he lied to us. And no, he wasn’t the only liar off the southeast coast of Africa.
Madagascar contains more than 40% of all known chameleon species in the world. Among them is a vast group of “long-nosed” chameleonsthe species complex A cockerelin which males are easily distinguished by their long nasal appendage.
The differences that allowed these species to be separated were precisely in the shape of their noses. But this criterion, after all, is useless: the noses have been deceiving the scientists who studied them for more than a century.
It seems that after all, Pinocchio is not a simple variant of an already known species, but rather a completely different species, according to a new study based on genetic analyzes and museum specimens that are almost two centuries old. Researchers sequenced DNA from historical specimens preserved in museums: one of the chameleons analyzed was collected in 1836, according to .
“The genetic analyzes are conclusive: nose chameleons practically deceived previous research”, said first-hand the study’s first author, Frank Glaw.
The “Pinocchio” chameleon is, in fact, its own species, which now has the scientific name Calumma pinocchioaccording to a recent study in Salamandra Journal.
And there is more: there is another “hidden” species in the same group.
By chance, when analyzing the DNA of several specimens of chameleons dating back to the 19th century, researchers identified a second entirely new species: o Calumma horeiteriwhich had until now been included in Calumma nasutum based on the shape of the nasal appendix and other external features, which were poorly verified.
“Our study also revealed that nasal appendages can change rapidly in terms of length, shape and color. Their evolution is possibly driven by female preferences in mate selection”, revealed Glaw.
With the description of these two new species, exactly 100 species of chameleons are now known in Madagascar and 236 worldwide.
Tomás Guimarães, ZAP //
