This small, stubby-tailed chameleon occurs only in the Malawi rainforest and was thought to be extinct. Now researchers have discovered some remains in forest islands that have been destroyed by clearing
Chapman dwarf chameleons (Rhampholian chapmanorum) belong to a group of chameleons that are notably small, inconspicuous and with short tails. They are less than six centimeters long and are found only in the mountainous country rainforest in southern Malawi. “Unlike most common chameleons, Chapman chameleons do not have a tail – probably because they are not exclusively tree-dwellers, but mostly roam the forest floor,” explains Crystal Tolly of the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa. At night, dwarf chameleons crawl on the lower bushes to sleep.
The existence of Chapman dwarf chameleons was only discovered in 1992 – and even then they were considered critically endangered. Since then, the rainforest in southern Malawi has been further cleared. Tolly and his team estimate that about 80 percent of these forests have been destroyed since the 1980s. Meanwhile, the dwarf chameleon was also considered extinct.
But recent research shows that the species has survived – for now. Scientists have found representatives of these rare reptiles in many remaining forest islands. “The first we discovered was walking in the transition zone at the edge of the forest,” Tolly reports. “We were so excited that we got goosebumps and we jumped around.”
However, closer analysis revealed that there is really no reason to be happy: the few remaining populations of this dwarf chameleon are highly fragmented and genetically isolated from one another. This threatens to genetically weaken the population, which makes this species, already on the verge of extinction, even more vulnerable.
“The loss of forest requires immediate action before this species is completely destroyed,” says Tolly. The destruction of the forest in this area should be stopped and the chameleon habitat should be restored. “I get sad when I think about what we are doing to these animals and their habitat. They are helpless victims,” Toli said.
