Calumma roaloko PRÖTZEL, LAMBERT, ANDRIANASOLO, HUTTER, COBB, SCHERZ & GLAW, 2018
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Calumma roaloko
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| Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | E: two-toned soft-nosed chameleon Malagasy: Tanalahy roa loko |
| Synonym | Calumma roaloko PRÖTZEL, LAMBERT, ANDRIANASOLO, HUTTER, COBB, SCHERZ & GLAW 2018 |
| Distribution | C/E Madagascar (Alaotra-Mangoro Region) Type locality: mid-altitude rainforest, locally known as Inaroka (ca. 19.0050°S, 48.4613°E, ca. 1100 m a.s.l., Fig. 4) near Vohidrazana, Alaotra-Mangoro Region, in central-eastern Madagascar. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype. KU 343178 (field number SML 213), adult male in a good state of preservation with incompletely everted hemipenes (Fig. 3), collected on January 12th, 2016 by Shea M. Lambert, Carl R. Hutter, Kerry A. Cobb and Ginah Tsiorisoa Andrianasolo. Paratypes. ZSM 244/2018 (KU 343177, field number SML 210), subadult male, same locality and collectors as holotype; KU 343168 (field number SML 177), adult female, UADBA-R uncatalogued (KU 343176, field number SML 178), subadult male, and UADBA-R uncatalogued (KU 343167, field number SML 166), subadult female, all three collected on December 28th, 2015 (SML 166) and December 29th, 2015 (SML 177, 178) by Shea M. Lambert, Carl R. Hutter, Kerry A. Cobb and Ginah Tsiorisoa Andrianasolo in mid-elevation rainforest, locally known as Analambalo (ca. 18.9659°S, 48.4888°E, ca. 1100 m a.s.l., Figs 4–6) near Vohidrazana, Alaotra-Mangoro Region, in central-eastern Madagascar. |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis: Calumma roaloko sp. n. is a member of the phenetic C. nasutum species group (Prötzel et al. 2016), on the basis of the presence of a soft, dermal unpaired rostral appendage, absence of gular and ventral crests, and heterogeneous scalation on the lower arm, consisting mostly of tubercles of 0.4–0.7 mm diameter. With 44.5–45.6 mm SVL and 85.5–93.7 mm total length in adult specimens it is currently the smallest known species in the genus Calumma. The body of the chameleon is uniquely two-colored with beige/ white on the ventral and bright green on the dorsal half. Furthermore, it is characterized by a prominent and distally rounded rostral appendage, occipital lobes that are slightly notched, a distinctly elevated rostral crest, absence of a dorsal crest (or presence of at most two cones) in both sexes, absence of axillary pits, and a unique skull morphology. Calumma roaloko sp. n. differs from C. fallax, C. gallus, C. nasutum, C. peyrierasi, C. vatosoa and C. vohibola of the C. nasutum group by the presence of occipital lobes; from C. boettgeri, C. gehringi, C. guibei, C. lefona, C. linotum and C. juliae in the generally smaller body size with a maximum SVL of 45.6 mm and a maximum TL of 93.7 mm (vs. a range of SVL maxima in the former species of 49.1–59.6 mm and TL maxima of 98.7–126.1 mm), and a straight-lined dorsal margin of the supralabial scales vs. serrated (character ‘en dents de scie’ in Angel 1942); additionally from C. gehringi, C. guibei, and C. lefona in the slightly notched occipital lobes of 0.2–0.4 mm (vs. clearly notched with 0.5–1.8 mm) and in the absence of frontoparietal fenestra; from C. boettgeri by the large juxtaposed tubercle scales on the extremities (vs. isolated from each other). From the most similar taxon Calumma uetzi, C. roaloko sp. n. differs in the absence of a dorsal crest or presence of at most two cones (vs. presence of 5–14 cones), absence of a temporal crest (vs. presence of 1–2 temporal tubercles), greater number of supralabial scales (13 vs. 10–12) and infralabial scales (12–14 vs. 11–12), a longer rostral appendage in adult males of 5.2 mm with large tubercle scales (vs. 3.8 mm, small and smooth tubercle scales; note: n = 1 each), and less heterogeneous scalation on the head with diameter of largest scale in temporal region of 0.6–0.7 mm (vs. 1.0–1.3 mm). The osteology of the skull is similar in both species; C. roaloko sp. n. differs from C. uetzi only in the absence of elevated protuberances at the anterior end of the maxilla that characterize the skull of male C. uetzi. Calumma roaloko sp. n. furthermore differs from all other species by distinct differences in the mitochondrial genes ND2 and COI and a unique two-colored life-coloration. |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | The specific epithet “roaloko” is a combination of the Malagasy words “roa” meaning “two” and “loko” meaning “color”, in reference to the characteristic two-toned body colorations of males (green and white) and females (brown and tan) of this species. The epithet is to be treated as an invariable noun in apposition. |
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