Scientists Discover Panther Chameleon is Eleven Different Species
Posted on May 26, 2015
Scientists have discovered that the panther chameleon (Furcifer pardalis) is actually eleven different species and not just a single species. The colorful chameleon is found only in Madagascar. The chameleon is threatened by rapid deforestation in the region.
The team of scientists led by Michel Milinkovitch, professor of genetics, evolution, and biophysics at the University of Geneva (UNIGE), used DNA sequencing to determine the chameleon is actually multiple species. The other scientists included Achille Raselimanana of the University of Antananarivo and researchers from the Department of Genetics and Evolution in the UNIGE Faculty of Sciences. The scientists gathered a drop of blood from 324 different panther chameleons and documented them using color photographs.
The scientists found that mathematical analysis of the 324 color photographs demonstrated that subtle color patterns could efficiently predict assignment of chameleon individuals to their corresponding genetic lineage. This confirmed that many of the geographical populations would need to be considered separate species.
The scientists then simplified their analysis of the color diversity of the chameleons into a classification key. This key enables scientists to now link most chameleons to their corresponding species using only the naked eye.
Scientists have not assigned scientific names to the eleven different species. The Mother Nature Network says the color and pattern key could help local conservations when setting aside preserves and coming up with strategies to aide in the survival of panther chameleons. A research paper on the panther chameleon study can be found here in the journal, Molecular Ecology.