Calumma krystalae VENCES, ROTHE, GLAW, SCHERZ, GEHRING, HAWLITSCHEK, KUHN, MULTZSCH, PETZOLD, PREICK, RAKOTOARIMALALA, RASELIMANANA, RATSOAVINA, RUANE, VIEITES, HOFREITER & DUFRESNES, 2026
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Calumma krystalae
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| Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Calumma krystalae VENCES, ROTHE, GLAW, SCHERZ, GEHRING, HAWLITSCHEK, KUHN, MULTZSCH, PETZOLD, PREICK, RAKOTOARIMALALA, RASELIMANANA, RATSOAVINA, RUANE, VIEITES, HOFREITER & DUFRESNES 2026: 14 |
| Distribution | NE Madagascar (Marojejy National Park) Type locality: Marojejy National Park, Camp 3 “Simpona” (geographical co-ordinates 14.43665°S, 49.74335°E, 1,326 m a.s.l.), north-eastern Madagascar |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. ZSM 71/2005 (field number ZCMV 2038), adult male, collected by F. Glaw, M. Vences and R.D. Randrianiaina on 16 February 2005. Paratypes. Eleven specimens, comprising eight males and three females: ZSM 1833/2010, 512–516/2014, 443/2016, 1704–1705/2012, 31–32/2016. (for full details, see SI). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A relatively large Calumma assigned to the pheneticcucullatum group based on presence of long, bony rostral projection in males, large occipital lobes, and hemipenes with regular calyces extending down much of the truncus and absence of spines. Within the group, adult males can be distinguished from C. cucullatum, C. jejy andC. tsaratananense by presence of a distinct unpaired rostral projection (vs. absence); from C. tsaratananense, C. jejy, C. hilleniusi, andC. peltierorum by a poorly developed gular crest with relatively short spines (vs. more strongly developed); from the C. brevicorne complex andC. amber by occipital lobes separated behind the occiput by only a small notch (vs. large notch); from most species, including C. peltierorum and the C. brevicorne complex, by a larger number of scales on occipital lobes (at least 160, often > 200, vs. usually < 160) and enlarged scales on occipital lobes smaller (their maximum size usually < 25% of eye diameter vs. usually > 25%). The new species is morphologically most similar to its sister species, C. malthe, but differs by a lower number of scales on occipital lobes in most specimens (160–245 vs. 209–441; dif-ference significant in Mann-Whitney U test, P < 0.001), presence of 6–15 enlarged scales on occipital lobes (their maximum diameter 19–31% of eye diameter, vs. 16–20%), 5–11 spines or spine-like tubercles in gular crest (vs. 1–2); regular arrangement of more or less equally sized dorsal spines (vs. a periodicity with a large spine followed by ca. 5 smaller spines); rostral crest and rostral projection unpigmented, fluorescent under UV light (vs. pigmented with similar color as the remaining sur-face of head). Based on the limited available data, many of these dif-ferences to C. malthe also apply to comparisons between females (e.g., size of occipital lobe scales, color of occipital lobes, pigmentation of rostral crest), but may be less obvious. (Vences et al. 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 Krystal Tolley, Red List Authority Coordinator for the IUCN Species Survival Commission Chameleon Specialist Group, in recognition of her work on chameleon systematics and conservation. |
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