The smallest ‘true chameleon’ from Madagascar: a new, distinctly colored species of the Calumma boettgeri complex (Squamata, Chamaeleonidae)

On a recent expedition to eastern Madagascar, we discovered a distinct new species of the genus Calumma that we describe here using an integrative approach combining morphology, coloration, osteology and molecular genetics. Calumma roaloko sp. n. has a dermal rostral appendage and occipital lobes, and belongs to the C. boettgeri complex, within the Madagascar-endemic phenetic C. nasutum species group. It is readily distinguished from other species of the C. boettgeri complex by a characteristic two-toned body coloration and small body size with a snout-vent length of 45.6 mm in an adult male. The osteology of the skull, with a prominent maxilla and broad parietal, is similar to the closest related species, C. uetzi. Analysis of uncorrected genetic distances within the C. nasutum group using the mitochondrial gene ND2 shows a minimum pairwise distance of 11.98% to C. uetzi from the Sorata massif and Marojejy National Park >500 km north of the type locality of C. roaloko sp. n.. Given an apparently small range (potentially