Calumma radamanus (MERTENS, 1933)
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Calumma radamanus
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| Higher Taxa | Chamaeleonidae, Sauria, Iguania, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Chamaeleo radamanus MERTENS 1933 Calumma radamanus — PRÖTZEL et al. 2020: 40 |
| Distribution | E Madagascar (between Tampolo and the type locality Ambatond’Radama about 250 km further north), elevation 7–500 m (Fig. 9 in Prötzel et al. 2020) Type locality: Col Pierre Radama 1000 m elevation (= Ambatondradama or Ambatoledama, 35 – 40 km north-east of Maroantsetra, N.E. Madagascar according to Viette (1991); coordinates approximately: 15.29°S, 50.00°E, ca. 547 m elevation. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: SMF 22132, adult male, collected in 1931 by Hans Bluntschli. Paratypes: At least the following five specimens: SMF 26394 (female), SMF 26367 (subadult male), NMW 15999:1 (male with everted hemipenes), NMW 15999:2 (female) and NMW 15999:3 (female), all with presumably the same collection data as the holotype. The current whereabouts and institutional numbers of the remaining 14 type specimens are unknown (Gehring et al., 2011). |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis (based on the type series and the referred material; osteology based on SMF 22132, ZSM 619/2009, and ZSM 475/2010, all three males): Calumma radamanus is characterised by (1) a medium size (male SVL 42.6 – 49.2 mm, female SVL 43.0 – 49.2 mm; male TL 84.9 – 93.5 mm, female TL 77.0 – 92.9 mm), tail length shorter than body length, (2) a short (1.4 – 1.7 mm in males, 0.2–1.6 mm in females) and distally rounded, downward oriented rostral appendage, (3) rostral scale generally integrated into the rostral appendage, (4) rostral crest present, (5) lateral crests present, (6) temporal crest generally present, (7) cranial crest present, (8) parietal crest absent, (9) an indistinctly raised casque in males with a height of 0.8–1.5 mm, (10) a dorsal crest of 6–8 spines sometimes present in males, absent in females, (11) 11–15 supralabial scales with a serrated upper margin, (12) general absence of axillary pits, (13) diameter of the largest scale in the temporal region of the head 0.6–0.9 mm, (14) no frontoparietal fenestra in the skull, (15) posterior process of squamosal widely separated from parietal, (16) parietal bone width at midpoint 16.1 – 22.4% of skull length, (17) a generally greenish body colouration, (18) a typically turquoise nose in non-stressed colouration, (19) a turquoise cheek colouration, (20) three royal blue dorsoventral blotches on the body and a white lateral stripe, and (21) a brown to black stripe running from rostral appendage across the eye to the casque. Calumma radamanus can easily be distinguished from all species of the C. boettgeri complex (see above) by the absence of occipital lobes; from C. gallus by different length, shape and colour of its rostral appendage (see above); from C. vatosoa by presence of a rostral appendage (vs absence); from C. vohibola by generally longer relative rostral appendage length (RRS 0.5 – 3.6% vs 0.1 – 1.4%), rostral scale generally integrated into rostral appendage (vs not integrated), squamosal and parietal not in contact (vs in contact), wider frontal bone, crenate prefrontals (vs smooth), greenish body colouration (vs greyish to brownish), presence of large blue lateral blotches (vs absence); from C. nasutum as redefined herein generally by rostral scale integrated into the rostral appendage (vs not integrated), shorter rostral appendage in males (2.9 – 3.2% of SVL vs 4.5 – 5.3%), male casque lower (0.8–1.5 mm vs 1.5–2.0 mm), occasional presence of dorsal crest consisting of spines (vs generally absence or consisting of cones if present), squamosal and parietal not in contact (vs in contact); for diagnosis against C. fallax, see below. For diagnosis against the species described herein, see their respective descriptions below (Prötzel et al. 2020: 42). |
| Comment | Synonymy: Angel (1942) synonymized C. radamanus with Chamaeleo nasutus Duméril & Bibron, 1836, but revalidated by Prötzel et al. 2020. |
| Etymology | Radamanus means ‘from Radama’ in Latin (-anus declension meaning ‘of’ or ‘pertaining to’), and clearly refers to the origin of specimens from Col Pierre Radama. However, it is not clear from the word ‘radamanus’ nor from the original description whether this is to be treated as a substantive noun or an adjective. Following ICZN article 31.2.2 it is treated as an invariable noun in apposition. |
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