Scientists believe they have discovered The smallest reptile on Earth, named Nanocamelon.
Two of these small lizards were found in Madagascar, Africa, by a joint expedition by local researchers and Germany.
The body of a male of the subspecies Brucea nana measures only 13.5 mm. According to the Bavarian State Zoology Collection in Germany, it is the smallest of 11,500 known reptile species.
Its length from top to tail is 22 mm. Female is very large, about 29 mm, The institute said, despite “great efforts”, other specimens have not yet been located.
Scientific reports state that the new chameleon is found only in a mountainous hilly area in northern Madagascar and may be in danger of extinction.
Oliver Havlitschek, a scientist at the Natural History Center in Hamburg, said: “Nenochamellon’s habitat has unfortunately been cleaned up, but the area has been recently in place for the conservation of the species to survive.”
Species live in fallen forest – Photo: Endagarex
In their report, scientists suggested that the chameleon has been listed as a serious by the International Nature Conservation Organization (IUCN) to create a red list of threatened species to help protect it and its habitat .
‘Excessive commute’
Researchers found that nanocamelon hunts mites on the rainforest floor and hides in grass leaves from predators at night.
One of the researchers involved in the search, Mark Sharz, said it was “a wonderful case of extreme commute”.
He said that in the forests Brucacia nana are still well connected with others in the north of the island.
“So this small new chameleon breaks the pattern of the smallest species found on small islands. This suggests that some more chameleons are allowing these chameleons to be smaller,” he said.
