Meet the “nanochameleon”, the world’s smallest reptile discovered in Madagascar.
A new species of chameleon was recently discovered in northern Madagascar. It is a reptile whose length is the smallest in the world of reptiles, approximately the size of a peanut. According to an international team of researchers, this “nanochameleon” fits on the tip of a human finger due to its body length of 13.5 millimetres.
This new species of chameleon (Brookesia nana) has been affected by deforestation, so it has not yet been possible to find more specimens. However, the area where the species has been found was put under protection for it to survive, according to Oliver Hawlitschek, a scientist at the Hamburg Center for Natural History who is participating in the research.
Another important fact is that the length of the male is 13.5 millimetres (from the mouth to the base of the tail) and almost 22 centimetres in total (counting the tail);. At the same time, the female is significantly larger due to her body length of 19 centimeters and a total of 29. For this reason, the male’s genitalia is larger in relation to body size since, in this way, they can successfully mate with their females, which are much larger.
