Panther chameleons are actually 11 different species

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck

The panther chameleon, a reptile unique to Madagascar that exhibits spectacular intra-specific color variation, is actually a group of 11 different lizards and not a lone species as has long been believed, an international team of researchers reports in a new study.

In their new study, University of Geneva (UNIGE) genetics, evolution and biophysics professor Michel Milinkovitch and his colleagues looked to build upon previous research which found that chameleons change color through the active tuning of a lattice of guanine nanocrystals in special skin cells rather than through the dispersion and/or aggregation of pigments.

Milinkovitch’s team set out to determine the biophysical mechanisms responsible for the panther chameleon’s remarkable color pallet. They collected a blood sample from 324 individual reptiles and documented them through high-resolution color photographs, then analyzed the DNA of the creatures.

Discovery requires new approach to species management

The research team went on two separate expeditions to Madagascar as part of their research, and the blood that they collected was used in genetic analysis of both the mitochondrial and nuclear DNA of the chameleons based on the hypothesis that the creature’s dominant color could be due to the geographic region in which it is discovered, they explained in a statement.

That research, coupled with mathematical analyses of the images, confirmed that the subtle color patterns could predict the assignment of individual chameleons to genetic lineages and indicating that members of the distinct geographical populations could be considered separated species. The authors then simplified their analysis into a color-diversity classification key, which allows most chameleons to be linked to their corresponding species based solely on visual confirmation.

Their work also re-emphasizes that Madagascar is what the authors call a “hotspot for biodiversity”, and that the classification key they developed could help local scientists avoid over-harvesting local populations. Furthermore, they explained they hope their research, which appears in the journal Molecular Ecology, will help raise awareness for Madagascar’s fragile ecosystem.

Professor Milinkovitch told redOrbit via email that the work is significant in two major ways. For one thing, he said that the management of 11 different chameleon species is “very different” and, in many ways, more difficult than “management of an abundant and very widespread single species.” Also, he noted that it highlights how little we know about “the staggering biodiversity of Madagascar… and the habitat is being destroyed at a very fast pace.”

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