Brookesia bonsi

Brookesia bonsi is a species of chameleons, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar, and was initially described by Guy A. Ramanantsoa in 1980. The International Union for Conservation of Nature ranked this species as Critically Endangered.

Brookesia bonsi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Chamaeleonidae
Genus: Brookesia
Species:
B. bonsi
Binomial name
Brookesia bonsi
Ramanantsoa, 1980

Etymology

The specific name, bonsi, is in honor of French herpetologist Jacques Bons.[1]

Distribution and habitat

Brookesia bonsi is endemic to Tsingy de Namoroka Strict Nature Reserve (Namoroka National Park; Reserve naturelle no. 8 du Tsingy de Namoroka) in Soalala District, Mahajanga Province, northern Madagascar. Its type locality is the Tsingy de Namoroka Strict Nature Reserve.[2] It is found on and restricted to the more humid parts of the reserve. B. bonsi was found at elevations between 100 and 200 m (330 and 660 ft) above mean sea level. It is believed to be found over an area less than 100 km2 (39 sq mi), and many surveys in western Madagascar have failed to record this species.[3] Because of the small area in which it is found, the International Union for Conservation of Nature has ranked B. bonsi as Critically Endangered because the climate continues to suffer due to the collection of wood.[4] During a 1996 survey, the species was not considered rare, but during 2002, the species was not found on a 15-day survey of the nature reserve.[4]

Taxonomy

Brookesia bonsi was originally described as a species new to science by herpetologist Guy A. Ramanantsoa in 1980. Authors who later published on this species were: Glaw and Vences (1994: 236), Nečas (1999: 276), and most recently Townsend et al. (2009).[2] According to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS), the taxonomic status of this species is valid.[5]

References
  1. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Brookesia bonsi, p. 31).
  2. "Brookesia bonsi | The Reptile Database". Reptile-database.reptarium.cz. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  3. "Namoroka Leaf Chameleon - Brookesia bonsi - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life". Eol.org. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  4. "Brookesia bonsi (Namoroka Leaf Chameleon)". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved 2012-11-12.
  5. "ITIS Standard Report Page: Brookesia bonsi". Itis.gov. Retrieved 2012-11-12.

Further reading
  • Glaw F, Vences M (1994). A Fieldguide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Madagascar, Second Edition. Cologne, Germany: Vences & Glaw Verlag / Serpents Tale. 480 pp. ISBN 978-3929449-01-3. (Brookesia bonsi, p. 236).
  • Nečas, Petr (1999). Chameleons — Nature's Hidden Jewels. Frankfurt am Main: Chimaira. 348 pp. ISBN 1-57524-137-4. (Brookesia bonsi, p. 276).
  • Ramanantsoa GA (1980). "Description de deux nouvelles espéces de Brookesia (Reptilia, Squamata, Chamaeleonidae): B. legendrei et B. bonsi". Bull. Mus. nat. Hist. nat., Paris 4 (1): 685-693. (Brookesia bonsi, new species). (in French).
  • Townsend TM, Vieites DR, Glaw F, Vences M (2009). "Testing Species-Level Diversification Hypotheses in Madagascar: The Case of Microendemic Brookesia Leaf Chameleons". Systematic Biology 58 (6): 641-656.
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