Brookesia tristis GLAW, KÖHLER, TOWNSEND & VENCES, 2012
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Brookesia tristis
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| Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae (Brookesiinae), Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Brookesia tristis GLAW, KÖHLER, TOWNSEND & VENCES 2012 Brookesia (Evoluticauda) tristis — GLAW et al. 2021 |
| Distribution | N Madagascar (Antsiranana) Type locality: Montagne des Français, 12°19’S, 49°20’E, ca. 150m elevation, Antsiranana Province, northern Madagascar |
| Reproduction | oviparous (not imputed, fide Zimin et al. 2022) |
| Types | Holotype: ZSM 1704/2004 (no field number), adult male (hemipenes everted), collected on 23 February 2004 by F. Glaw, M. Puente, R. D. Randrianiaina and guides of the hotel ‘‘King’s Lodge’’. Paratypes.— UADBA uncatalogued (FGZC 477–478), ZSM |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: A member of the Brookesia minima group based on small body size (SVL ,24 mm) and molecular phylogenetic relationships. Brookesia tristis is distinguished from other members of the group as follows: from B. dentata by probably smaller adult body size (no measurements of male B. dentata available), and presence (in most specimens) of lateral spines on the tail (vs. absence); from B. exarmata by presence (in most specimens) of lateral spines on the tail (vs. absence); from B. karchei by probably smaller adult body size (female SVL 18.0–23.8 mm vs. 30.7 mm; no measurements of clearly identified males available for B. karchei), and absence of a supraocular cone (vs. presence); from B. minima by the presence of a supranasal cone, a pelvic spine, and (in most specimens) lateral spines on the tail (vs. absence), and hemipenis with small apical spine-like papillae (vs. balloon-like without ornaments); from B. peyrierasi by smaller adult body size (male SVL 18.0–18.2 mm vs. 19.7–22.4 mm), presence (in most specimens) of lateral spines on the tail (vs. absence), and by a hemipenis with small apical spine-like papillae (vs. bilobed hemipenis with four large spines per lobe); from B. ramanantsoai by smaller adult body size (male SVL 18.0–18.2 mm vs. 21.7 mm), absence of a supraocular cone (vs. presence in some specimens), presence (in most specimens) of lateral spines on the tail (vs. absence), and hemipenis with small apical spine-like papillae (vs. hemipenis balloon-like without ornaments); and from B. tuberculata by the absence of a supraocular cone (vs. presence), presence (in most specimens) of lateral spines on the tail (vs. absence), and hemipenis with small apical spine-like papillae (vs. hemipenis with apical crown-like structure). For a distinction from B. confidens, B. desperata, and B. micra, described below, see the diagnoses of these species. Referencing a fragment of the 16S rRNA gene, B. tristis shows an uncorrected pairwise divergence of 6.4% to its sister species B. desperata, and divergences .6.9% to all other species of the B. minima group. |
| Comment | Distribution: see map in Glaw et al. 2021: 5 (Fig. 3) |
| Etymology | The species epithet is an adjective derived from the Latin ‘‘tristis’’ meaning ‘‘doleful’’, ‘‘sad’’, ‘‘sorrowful’’, and refers to the fact that the entire known range of this species (Montagne des Franc ̧ais) suffers from severe deforestation and habitat destruction [37] despite recently being declared as a nature reserve. |
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