Colorful Chameleons, Part 2

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Hi Everyone! It seems my first post on chameleons was premature, as Tim and I have just travelled a bit around the northern part of the island of Madagascar, and the diversity of chameleons in the region was incredible! Every single day we saw a new species, with a different sort of ornamentation. It must be mating season, because the males were out in dizzying colors, some with horns (one or two) on their noses, some with casques (kind of like helmets) on their heads, and we did see a few females heavy with eggs to lay.

We saw chameleons from all three genera: Furcifer, Calumma, and finally—for real this time—Brookesia. Brookesia are the smallest of the chameleons, and an additional feature that sets them apart is that their tails are not prehensile: they cannot grasp tree branches with their tails like the other chameleons. They live on the ground disguised in the leaf litter, not in the branches.

Where to begin with describing so many interesting features?? I suppose I could run through all the Calumma first, which seem to be the ones with a diverse range of nose shapes.

This is a short horned chameleon (also known as an elephant-eared) Calumma brevicornis

 You can kind of see on the side of its head why it is sometimes called the elephant eared chameleon, but in actuality, chameleons do not have ears!

The blue nosed chameleon Calumma boettgeri

 This fellow's blue nose changed color when we approached for the photo.

Rhinoceros chameleon Calumma rhinoceratus

We saw the rhinoceros chameleon in Ankarafantsika National Park, right along the path!

Big nosed chameleon, Calumma nasutus

This chameleon likes to hide his big nose by hanging in the trees between dead leaves.

And now for some double trouble, this guy has TWO horns on his nose!

Parson's chameleon, Calumma parsonii

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Moving on to the Furcifer genus, the canvases for the most brilliant colors. All of the following are Furcifer pardalis, the panther chameleon. Males are more brightly colored, and females range from a dull pink/orange/gray.
 

Here, a male panther chameleon (R) tries to impress a female (L) in the branches of a cacao tree

I was very impressed by the casques (helmets) of the Oustalet's chameleons we saw in Ankarafantsika National Park (Furcifer oustaleti). I thought they must be some sort of fatty deposit on their heads to indicate mate quality to prospective females, but I was surprised to learn that there is an underlying skeletal structure supporting it, above the brain case.

 Ok and one last colorful Furcifer, a pregnant female Petter's chameleon (Furcifer petteri). Females bury their eggs underground, to incubate for 10 months before hatching.

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And finally, what we've all been waiting for....Brookesia! Itty bitty Brookesia. Can you believe your eyes?

Mt. Amber pygmy leaf chameleon, Brookesia ambreensis, is only found in the Mt. Amber National Park. And it's not even the smallest of the genus!

This is a plated leaf chameleon, Brookesia stumpffi, that we found in Ankarana National Park.

And another pregnant female.

The leaf chameleons are not only small, but also well camouflaged in their environment, making them especially difficult to find. Can you see the spiny leaf chameleon (Brookesia decaryi) in this photo? 

hint: just at the base!

 They have a territory of approximately 1 square meter. 

We went on a night walk in Mitsinjo, and found another pregnant female:

Brown leaf chameleon, Brookesia superciliarus

 Ok that is all the chameleons for now, hopefully enough to hold you over for the new year!