Brookesia minima

Brookesia minima
Lokobe Strict Reserve
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Chamaeleonidae
Genus:	Brookesia
Species:	B. minima
Binomial name
Brookesia minima Boettger, 1893

Brookesia minima, (

B. minima is the third-smallest lizard ever described. The species has the independently rotating eyes and prehensile tail characteristic of all chameleons. It is coloured light grey on the head, back and tail, although the tail becomes orange then yellowish towards the tip. The sides of the body are brown, occasionally interrupted by dark brown spots, and the limbs are almost entirely dark brown. Spotted patterning appears to be a stress colouration, and unstressed individuals have a more or less uniform dark brown body, apart from a beige area in front of the eyes (1). The B. minima adult has a flattened head and an orbital crest with large scales forming triangular plates above its eyes. Along its back are two rows of granular protrusions. B. minima specimens sometimes have lateral yellow stripes over their basic drab grayish-brown color. The maximum total length is 3.4 cm (1.3 in) for females and 2.8 cm (1.1 in) for males. Males are also slenderer than females, and exhibit a hemipenial bulge at the base of their tails.^[7]

Habitat

B. minima is native to the

• [1]Brookesia minima images on Flickr

Bibliography

• Klaver, C. & W. Boehme. 1997. Chamaeleonidae. Das Tierreich, 112: i-xiv' 1 - 85. Verlag Walter de Gruyter & Co., Berlin, New York.
• Martin, J., 1992. Masters of Disguise: A Natural History of Chameleons. Facts On File, Inc., New York, NY.
• Necas, P. 1999. Chameleons: Nature's Hidden Jewels. Krieger Publishing Company, Malabar, FL.

References