Brookesia brunoi CROTTINI, MIRALLES, GLAW, HARRIS, LIMA & VENCES, 2012
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Brookesia brunoi
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| Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae (Brookesiinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Brookesia brunoi CROTTINI, MIRALLES, GLAW, HARRIS, LIMA & VENCES 2012 |
| Distribution | SC Madagascar (Fianarantsoa) Type locality: Anja Reserve (see Fig. 1 in Crottini et al. 2011), Ambalavao 21°51'06.8'' S, 46°50'38.5'' E, about 950 m elevation, Haute Matsiatra Region, Fianarantsoa province, southern central Madagascar |
| Reproduction | oviparous (phylogenetic imputation, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: ZSM 888/2010 (ZCMV 12784), adult male, collected on 8th December 2010 by Aurélien Miralles and Fanomezana M. Ratsoavina. A 3 mm long piece of muscle of the right hind limb has been cut and preserved in 96% EtOH for genetic analyses. Paratypes. ZSM 889/2010 (ZCMV 13022), adult gravid female, collected in Anja Reserve, Ambalavao 21°51'2.64'' S, 46°50'33.80'' E, 949 m a.s.l., Haute Matsiatra Region, Fianarantsoa province, southern central Madagascar, on 9th December 2009 by Angelica Crottini, D. James Harris, Iker A. Irisarri, Alexandra Lima, Solohery Rasamison and Emile Rajeriarison. One mm of the tail tip has been cut and preserved in 96% EtOH for genetic analyses. UADBA uncatalogued (ZCMV 12783), adult female, collected at the same locality and dates of the holotype and hosted in the collection of the Université d'Antananarivo, Département de Biologie Animale. A piece of muscle has been cut and preserved in 96% EtOH for genetic analyses. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A medium-sized Brookesia species characterized by (1) body without a dorsal ridge (keel) and (2) presence of a complete series of laterovertebral pointed tubercles, with (3) the posteriormost laterovertebral pointed tubercle modified into a diamond-shaped pelvic shield, (4) nine pairs of laterovertebral pointed tubercles, (5) absence of enlarged pointed tubercles around the vent, (6) presence of poorly defined laterovertebral tubercles along the entire tail. Brookesia brunoi differs from all other Brookesia species, except for Brookesia brygooi, B. decaryi, B. bonsi, B. valerieae, B. ambreensis, B. antakarana, B. griveaudi, and B. stumpffi by characters 1–3 as listed in the previous paragraph. Brookesia brunoi differs from B. valerieae by its smaller size (SVL up to 42.8 vs. 46–53 mm), a clearly defined pelvic shield (vs. poorly defined), and rounded supraocular cone projecting forward to the level of nostril (vs. pointed supraocular cone not projecting forward to the level of nostril). It differs from B. ambreensis by the number of laterovertebral pointed tubercles (9 vs. 11–12), presence of poorly defined laterovertebral tubercles on tail (vs. absence), clearly defined pelvic shield (vs. poorly defined); from B. antakarana by the number of laterovertebral pointed tubercles (9 vs. 12–13); and from B. griveaudi by its smaller size (TL up to 67.8 vs. 86–99 mm), presence of poorly defined laterovertebral tubercles on tail (vs. absence), and rounded supraocular cone (vs. pointed supraocular cone). Brookesia brunoi differs from B. stumpffi by its smaller size (TL up to 67.8 vs. 81–93 mm) and the presence of poorly defined laterovertebral tubercles on tail (vs. absence). The most similar species to B. brunoi are Brookesia brygooi, B. decaryi and B. bonsi. Together with the morphologically highly distinct B. perarmata, these four species form a monophyletic group. Within this clade, B. brunoi can be distinguished by a combination of characters, especially by its lower number of laterovertebral pointed tubercles (9 vs. 10 in B. brygooi, B. decaryi, and B. bonsi), absence of enlarged pointed tubercles around the vent (present in the other three species), the configuration of its cephalic crest, the lateral tail tubercles (poorly defined), and hemipenial morphology. A summary of these differences is provided in Table 2 [from CROTTINI et al. 2012]. |
| Comment | Abundance: only known from the type locality (Meiri et al. 2017). |
| Etymology | A. Crottini dedicates this new species to Bruno Grassi in recognition of his love and support during these years. The specific name is thus a patronym, but in addition recalls the cryptic brownish coloration of the newly described species in Italian language. |
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