A new species of chameleon (sanria: Chamaeleonidae: Kinyongia) from the magombera forest and the udzungwa mountains national park, Tanzania

Michele Menegon, Krystal A. Tolley, Trevor Jones, Francesco Rovero, Andrew R. Marshall, Colin R. Tilbury

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

21 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A new species of chameleon Kinyongia magomberae sp. nov. (the Magombera chameleon), is described from Magombera forest and the Vdzungwa Mountains National Park, south-central Tanzania. The species status is supported by phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial and nuclear markers. The new chameleon is similar to K. tenuis and the more widespread Eastern Arc endemic K. oxyrhina in having a single rostral appendage. However, it can be distinguished from these two species by a shorter rostral appendage, which is different in shape and lacks a movable tip. K. magomberae sp. nov. is known from only two forest localities, the lowland and unprotected Magombera forest and the sub-montane Mwanihana forest within the Vdzungwa Mountains National Park. Phylogenetically, this taxon is sister to K. tenuis, and is part of a clade that also contains K. oxyrhina.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)59-70
Number of pages12
JournalAfrican Journal of Herpetology
Volume58
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jun 2009
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Chamaeleonidae
  • Eastern Arc Mountains
  • Kinyongia
  • Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA
  • New Species
  • Phylogeny

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Animal Science and Zoology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A new species of chameleon (sanria: Chamaeleonidae: Kinyongia) from the magombera forest and the udzungwa mountains national park, Tanzania'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this