Clinging to survival: Critically Endangered Chapman's pygmy chameleon <i>Rhampholeon chapmanorum</i> persists in shrinking forest patches

Tolley, Krystal A.; Tilbury, Colin R.; Silva, Jessica M. da; Brown, Gary; Chapeta, Yankho; Anderson, Christopher

doi:10.1017/s0030605320000952

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…5 b) and the endemic race belcheri of Cryptolybia olivacea ) was eliminated approximately 20 years ago, with the exception of a small (0.27 ha) forest patch on private land. The same fate affected Ndirande Mountain (in the 1990s) and Soche Mountain (2010s), as also most of Chiradzulu Mountain and the Malawi Hills 89 . In Mozambique, only one of the SEAMA sites, Mt Ribáuè (which includes Serra Mpàluwé) is a gazetted Forest Reserve.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…Therefore, the SEAMA is considerably more threatened by the rate of primary humid forest loss. Within the SEAMA, the extent and timing of forest loss varies between sites, with some such as Chiradzulu, Ndirande, and Thyolo Mountains in Malawi having lost all their forest cover prior to the year 2000, while the Malawi Hills are estimated 89 to have lost nearly 80% of forest cover since the 1980s. Several other sites have suffered severe declines in the period 2000 to 2022 (Table 1 ), including Mts Nállume 43%, Inago 39%, Ribáuè 35%, Namuli 30%, Socone 18% and Chiperone 14%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A biogeographical appraisal of the threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago ecoregion

Bayliss,

Bittencourt-Silva,

Branch

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Recent biological surveys of ancient inselbergs in southern Malawi and northern Mozambique have led to the discovery and description of many species new to science, and overlapping centres of endemism across multiple taxa. Combining these endemic taxa with data on geology and climate, we propose the ‘South East Africa Montane Archipelago’ (SEAMA) as a distinct ecoregion of global biological importance. The ecoregion encompasses 30 granitic inselbergs reaching > 1000 m above sea level, hosting the largest (Mt Mabu) and smallest (Mt Lico) mid-elevation rainforests in southern Africa, as well as biologically unique montane grasslands. Endemic taxa include 127 plants, 45 vertebrates (amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and 45 invertebrate species (butterflies, freshwater crabs), and two endemic genera of plants and reptiles. Existing dated phylogenies of endemic animal lineages suggests this endemism arose from divergence events coinciding with repeated isolation of these mountains from the pan-African forests, together with the mountains’ great age and relative climatic stability. Since 2000, the SEAMA has lost 18% of its primary humid forest cover (up to 43% in some sites)—one of the highest deforestation rates in Africa. Urgently rectifying this situation, while addressing the resource needs of local communities, is a global priority for biodiversity conservation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A biogeographical appraisal of the threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago ecoregion

Bayliss,

Bittencourt-Silva,

Branch

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

Self Cite

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A global reptile assessment highlights shared conservation needs of tetrapods

Cox

Young

Bowles

et al. 2022

Nature

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196

130

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Comprehensive assessments of species’ extinction risks have documented the extinction crisis1 and underpinned strategies for reducing those risks2. Global assessments reveal that, among tetrapods, 40.7% of amphibians, 25.4% of mammals and 13.6% of birds are threatened with extinction3. Because global assessments have been lacking, reptiles have been omitted from conservation-prioritization analyses that encompass other tetrapods4–7. Reptiles are unusually diverse in arid regions, suggesting that they may have different conservation needs6. Here we provide a comprehensive extinction-risk assessment of reptiles and show that at least 1,829 out of 10,196 species (21.1%) are threatened—confirming a previous extrapolation8 and representing 15.6 billion years of phylogenetic diversity. Reptiles are threatened by the same major factors that threaten other tetrapods—agriculture, logging, urban development and invasive species—although the threat posed by climate change remains uncertain. Reptiles inhabiting forests, where these threats are strongest, are more threatened than those in arid habitats, contrary to our prediction. Birds, mammals and amphibians are unexpectedly good surrogates for the conservation of reptiles, although threatened reptiles with the smallest ranges tend to be isolated from other threatened tetrapods. Although some reptiles—including most species of crocodiles and turtles—require urgent, targeted action to prevent extinctions, efforts to protect other tetrapods, such as habitat preservation and control of trade and invasive species, will probably also benefit many reptiles.

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Taxonomy of the Rhampholeon boulengeri Complex (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae): Five New Species from Central Africa’s Albertine Rift

HUGHES,

BEHANGANA,

LUKWAGO

et al. 2024

Zootaxa

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In a recent molecular study, the pygmy chameleon Rhampholeon boulengeri Steindachner, 1911 was shown to contain six genetically distinct, but phenotypically cryptic lineages. Phylogenetic analyses of genetic data demonstrated that several well-supported clades occurred in non-overlapping elevational ranges across the Albertine Rift in Central Africa. In order to resolve the taxonomy of the R. boulengeri complex, we examined the morphology of specimens representing all six genetic lineages, including the type specimens. Results supported the notion that the current taxonomy does not reflect species diversity and further uncovered the extent to which morphological differences were dissociated from genetic divergence in this complex. We formally describe five new species of Albertine Rift Rhampholeon, which reflects the species diversity more accurately within the region. All of the species are morphologically conserved and seem to exhibit a pattern of cryptic speciation similar to that observed in the genus and in other chameleon genera. Several of the new species are distributed in adjacent habitats, but occur in parapatry where they are separated by elevation, while species that overlap in elevation are allopatric. At least one of the new species exhibited bone fluorescence from its facial tubercles when examined under ultraviolet light, which is the first published account for the genus. Our results highlight the importance of investigating cryptic diversity using an integrative framework, especially for widespread species that look similar, and the description of these new species reinforces the Albertine Rift as one of the world’s richest biodiversity hotspots.

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Clinging to survival: Critically Endangered Chapman's pygmy chameleon Rhampholeon chapmanorum persists in shrinking forest patches

Cited by 4 publications

References 27 publications

A biogeographical appraisal of the threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago ecoregion

A biogeographical appraisal of the threatened South East Africa Montane Archipelago ecoregion

A global reptile assessment highlights shared conservation needs of tetrapods

Taxonomy of the Rhampholeon boulengeri Complex (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae): Five New Species from Central Africa’s Albertine Rift

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