Brookesia nofy RAKOTOARISON, HASINIAINA, GLAW & VENCES, 2024
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Brookesia nofy
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| Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae (Brookesiinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Brookesia nofy RAKOTOARISON, HASINIAINA, GLAW & VENCES 2024 |
| Distribution | E Madagascar Type locality: Ankanin’ny Nofy forest close to Palmarium Beach Hotel, eastern Madagascar, geographical coordinates ca. -18.6261, 49.2037, near sea level. |
| Reproduction | |
| Types | Holotype. ZSM 30/2024 (field number ZCMV 13721), adult male with fully everted hemipenes, found by locals and collected by Miguel Vences, Sandratra Rakotomanga, Solohery Rasamison, and Pedro Galan, on 22 November 2022. Paratype. uAdBA-R-70860 (field number ZCMV 13722), probably a subadult male, collected by Andolalao Rakotoarison, Alida F. Hasiniaina and Paul at the same locality as the holotype on 15 September 2023. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. A miniaturized chameleon assigned to the subgenus Evoluticauda in the genus Brookesia on the basis of its very small body size (SVl of adult male <21 mm), short tail, presence of rows of dorsolateral tubercles along vertebral column, presence of pelvic spine, and molecular phylogenetic relationships. Brookesia nofy sp. nov. is distinguished by the following unique suite of morphological characters: (1) male SVl 20.5 mm; (2) male tl mm 32.8 mm; (3) tal/SVl ratio 0.52–0.60; (4) absence of lateral or dorsal spines on the tail; (5) absence of dorsal pelvic shield in sacral area; (6) presence of distinct pelvic spine; (7) 5–6 dorsolateral pointed tubercles; (8) hemipenis of balloon-like shape and without obvious ornamentation. within the genus Brookesia, B. nofy sp. nov. can easily be distinguished from adults of all species that are not members of the B. minima species group (i.e., the subgenus Evoluticauda) by its diminutive size (SVl <21 mm vs. ≥ 34 mm). within the B. minima species group, we here focus on comparisons with B. ramanantsoai which is undoubtedly most similar and phylogenetically sister to the new species, and only give a subset of most relevant diagnostic characters to the other species. the new species can be distinguished from many species by the smaller total length (tl) of males: the known adult male (33.0 mm) is substantially smaller than all known male specimens of B. desperata (39.7–42.9 mm), B. exarmata (39.8–40.1 mm), and probably also B. karchei (only female size reliably known: 51.0 mm) and B. dentata (no precise measurements known). It is substantially larger than the extremely miniaturized species B. micra (male tl 22.5–23.6 mm) and B. nana (male tl 21.6 mm). the presence of distinct pelvic spines differentiates the new species from B. minima (absent or indistinct pelvic spines). the short relative tail length (tail length/SVl) constitutes a difference to B. minima (0.65–0.73), B. tedi (0.74–0.92), B. tristis (0.71–0.72), and B. tuberculata (0.68–0.88). Finally the globular (balloon-like) hemipenis without obvious ornaments strongly differs from the genital organs of B. tuberculata (elongated, tubular), B. micra (elongated with apical papillae), B. confidens (short and cone-like), B. desperata, B. peyrierasi and B. tristis (with small apical spines or apical lobes). the new species is morphologically most similar to its sister species, B. ramanantsoai. It differs by smaller total length (male tl 32.8 mm vs. 34.5–44.8 mm), which is primarily caused by relative tail length being consistently smaller in all available males, females and juveniles (tAl/SVl 0.52–0.60 vs. 0.61–0.83). It also appears to differ by a minimally smaller snout–vent length (male SVl 20.5 vs. 20.6–25.0) and perhaps by relatively larger heads (Hw/SVl 0.19–0.20 vs. 0.14–0.17; HH/SVl 0.20–0.21 vs. 0.15–0.18; based on our own measurements only). Also distinguished by a cephalic ridges pattern with u-shaped ridge with two inner ridge (vs. u-shaped ridge absent and three inner ridges; Fig. 5). |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after the Malagasy word “nofy”, which means “dream”. this choice is reflective of its association with the type locality Ankanin’ny Nofy. Additionally, the name refers to the currently ongoing regeneration of the forest at this locality (see discussion) which can be seen as a dream come true: a chance for sustainable conservation of these microendemic Brookesia. |
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