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Two
of the miniature lizards, one male and one female, were
discovered by a German-Madagascan expedition team in northern
Madagascar.
The male Brookesia nana, or nano-chameleon, has a body that is
only 13.5 mm (0.53 inches) long, making it the smallest of all
the roughly 11,500 known species of reptiles, the Bavarian State
Collection of Zoology in Munich said. Its total length from nose
to tail is just under 22 mm (0.87 inch).
The female nano-chameleon is significantly larger, with an
overall length of 29 mm, the research institute said, adding
that the scientists were unable to find further specimens of the
new subspecies "despite great effort".
The species' closest relative is the slightly larger Brookesia
micra, whose discovery was announced in 2012.
Scientists assume that the lizard's habitat is small, as is the
case for similar subspecies.
"The nano-chameleon's habitat has unfortunately been subject to
deforestation, but the area was placed under protection
recently, so the species will survive," Oliver Hawlitschek, a
scientist at the Center of Natural History in Hamburg, said in a
statement.
(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Reuters TV; Editing by Lisa
Shumaker)
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