Nadzikambia goodallae TOLLEY & CONRADIE, 2026
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Nadzikambia goodallae?
Nadzikambia goodallae
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| Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: Ribáuè sylvan chameleon |
| Synonym | Nadzikambia goodallae TOLLEY & CONRADIE 2026: 228 Nadzikambia aff. baylissi – BAYLISS et al. 2024: table SI1 |
| Distribution | Mozambique (Nampula Province) Type locality: stream margin on Mount Ribáuè (–14.8841; 38.2498, 1055 m a.s.l.), Nampula Province, Mozambique |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. PEM R24394, adult male, collected by W. Conradie and K.A. Tolley on 4 December 2018. Paratypes. 5 specimens: PEM R24395, gravid female, collected from the stream margin at Mount Ribáuè (–14.8841; 38.2497, 1066 m a.s.l.), Nampula Province, Mozambique by W. Conradie and K.A. Tolley, on 3 December 2018. PEM R24396, gravid female, collected near a stream on Mount Ribáuè (–14.8850; 38.2491, 1056 m a.s.l.), Nampula Province, Mozambique by W. Conradie and K.A. Tolley, on 4 December 2018. PEM R24253, subadult female, collected from the forested mountain slopes on Mount Ribáuè (–14.8809; 38.2462, 1142 m a.s.l.), Nampula Province, Mozambique by W. Conradie and K.A. Tolley on 14 April 2017. NHMUK 2025.3273, adult female, collected from the stream margin on Mount Ribáuè (–14.8846; 38.2495, 1052 m a.s.l.), Nampula Province, Mozambique by W. Conradie and K.A. Tolley on 3 December 2018. NHMUK 2025.3274, adult male, same details as previous specimen. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: The new species is assigned to the genus Nadzikambia based on several distinctive characteristics, including a short stout hemipenis with no apical rotulae, the absence of gular and ventral crests, a weakly developed dorsal crest, a low casque, and heterogeneous body scales that form rosettes of tubercles on the lower flanks (Tilbury et al. 2006). This assignment is further supported by monophyly observed in both mitochondrial and nuclear genes (Tilbury et al. 2006; Branch and Tolley 2010). The new species can be distinguished from other species of Nadzikambia by a combination of the following characters: average number upper labials (16.6 versus 15.2 in N. mlanjensis and 15.5 in N. franklinae sp. nov., similar to other species); highest average number lower labials (18.1 versus 16.4–17.7 in other populations), casque in adult males flat and extending laterally (versus higher and rounder in N. franklinae sp. nov. and N. eva nescens sp. nov., marginally raised and rounded in N. baylissi, similar to N. mlanjensis); scales on posterior and lateral crown of head rugose (versus smooth in N. franklinae sp. nov., N. evanescens sp. nov., N. baylissi, similar to N. mlanjensis); higher number of raised lateral crest and suborbital tubercles (11.2 and 15.6 versus 10.0–10.8 and 12.5–14.5); anterior of crown of head (on snout) narrower between supraorbital crests and more conclave (versus broader, raised and flatter in other species). Additionally, the new species occurs in allopatry from all congeneric species, with the closest geographical relative being N. evanescens sp. nov. (approx. 85 km away) and differs genetically from other Nadzikambia species by: 0.9–4.9% 16S, 3.8–13.3% ND2, and 4.4–13.2% ND4 uncorrected net p distances (Table 2). (Tolley & Conradie 2026) Unfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data. However, these details, e.g. detailed descriptions (about between half a page and a page) are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us if you need any of this material. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after Jane Goodall (1934–2025), an inspirational British scientist who lived and worked in Africa throughout her lengthy career. Although her work was dedicated to the study of Pan troglodytes, the Chimpanzee, she spent much of her life living and working in tropical forest, in particular at Gombe National Park, Tanzania. Like her own study species, this chameleon is a forest endemic and the destruction of forest, and other habitats, both at Mount Ribáuè as well as within the home range of P. troglodytes in Central and West Africa is causing forest-living species to decline to the brink of extinction. (Tolley & Conradie 2026) |
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