Chameleon Last Seen Over a Century Ago Rediscovered in Madagascar

WEB DESK: Voeltzkow’s chameleon has been rediscovered after a century by scientists in Madagascar during a targeted expedition. 

Researchers from Germany and Madagascar in German Journal of Herpetology ‘Salamandra’ announced that “Our planet is probably facing the beginning of an enormous extinction of species, often referred to as the ‘sixth mass extinction’, the ‘Holocene extinction’ or the ‘Anthropocene extinction’,”

Voeltzkow’s chameleons have a very short life span of a few months during the rainy season. It is quite difficult to find them as their habitat is onerous to reach during the wet season. According to Salamandra, “Furcifer voeltzkowi is a sexually dimorphic species.

The life coloration of males is largely green, whereas that of females is highly variable and can be extremely colorful. Both, morphology and life coloration of males and females show close similarities”.

The journal further states that “Rediscoveries of ‘lost’ species are very important as they provide crucial data for conservation measures and also bring some hope amidst the biodiversity crisis”.