New chameleon species showcase fragile biodiversity in Madagascar
A research team discovered 11 new species of chameleon that exist only in Madagascar. The findings also show how close to extinction many species are.
Michel Milinkovitch and his research team created a classification key that breaks down the 11 different species of panther chameleon so they can be identified with the naked eye.
Courtesy of Michel Milinkovitch
Once thought to be a single species, Madagascar's panther chameleon has been proven to be at least 11 separate species, according to a conducted by the University of Geneva.
Published in the journal Molecular Ecology, the study was conducted by genetics and evolution professor Michel Milinkovitch and a team of researchers in Madagascar.听The study looked at chameleons鈥� changing coloring to determine where different species diverted and confirm that Madagascar is one of the most biologically diverse places on Earth.
During two trips to the island, scientists collected a photograph and a blood sample from each of 324 individual panther chameleons. These samples were then used to test the hypothesis that the dominant color in the chameleon would correlate to its geographical population.
鈥淭he DNA (mitochondrial and nuclear) of each of the specimens were sequenced and analyzed in the laboratory,鈥� the researchers 鈥淢ost importantly, the genetic material indicated strong genetic structure among geographically-restricted lineages, revealing very low interbreeding among populations.鈥�
By combining these findings with the photographs, the researchers realized that subtle differences in color and pattern could predict which species an individual chameleon belonged to. Milinkovitch and his team then simplified this data to make a classification key, allowing local biologists to distinguish between the different species with the naked eye.
鈥淕iven the charismatic nature of chameleons, Milinkovitch hopes that, in addition to a better understanding of the genetic basis of color variation in chameleons, his collaborative study with his Malagasy colleagues will help his colleague, Professor Raselimanana, to continue his difficult enterprise: raising awareness for the staggering but fragile biodiversity hosted by Madagascar,鈥� the press release says.
Approximately 80 to 90 percent of all species found in Madagascar exist . However, widespread deforestation for firewood and charcoal production threaten 400 species of reptile, 300 species of amphibians, 300 species of birds, 15,000 species of plants and countless species of invertebrates.
Although humans have discovered only approximately 16 percent听of the estimated 12 million species on earth, panther chameleons and many other are found to be endangered.
This is unsurprising considering that faster than nature is creating them.
"We now know for certain how much faster species are going extinct," , a conservation ecologist at Duke University and president of the nonprofit conservation group Saving Species. As an example, Pimm told LiveScience that the planet should lose about one bird species every 1,000 years, but with human activities, at least 150 species of birds have gone extinct in the last 500 years.