Feb 16, 2012

Teeny chameleons


That's not just a very close close-up of that newly discovered chameleon. No matter your screen size, that photo is probably way larger than life-size, as you can judge from the next photo:

To be fair, that is apparently a juvenile, but even the adults are only a little bit more than an inch in total length. This is one of four new species of tiny chameleons discovered in Madagascar, described in a paper published this week.

As so often with these stories it's happy and sad at the same time - from "Cool animal!" to "Uh oh" in the space of a blog post - and for these guys, the discoverers even immortalized this in their names. The unique wildlife of Madagascar is under threat from habitat destruction, and with only a small range, these newly discovered reptiles are at special risk. The threat inspired the Latin names of two of the new species. One is called Brookesia tristis, derived from the word for "sad," and another is rather obvious: Brookesia desperata.

-Wombat (No Relation)

6 comments:

Adorably Dead said...

Those poor little things. I swear some companies will not be happy until we destroy everything and everyone.

Anonymous said...

WOW TNX FOR UR BLOG REALLY BEST BLOG!!!!!!!!!!!!!ILOVEIT

laurak/ForestWalkArt :) said...

saw these teeny weeny critters on the news last night!! amazing and TOO cute!!
i sure hope people learn to respect the planet...and each other...

Cyndee Barber said...

I found my new favorite blog! I can't wait to go through the archives.I'm an illustrator and ugly animal lover and I'm overwhelmed with inspiration!

Thanks!

wombat said...

Well it's nice to have overwhelmed someone with something. Thanks yourself!

pet food said...

I found this blog informative. I don't think this animals are ugly. Actually they are so cute.