Calumma crypticum

In the hills of Ambohitantely and the surrounding pockets of remnant high‑plateau forest, a spectacular chameleon remained almost unknown: a dwarf population of Calumma crypticum living above 1600 meters. These high‑elevation enclaves host individuals that differ strikingly from other populations of the species complex of C. brevicorne. They are smaller, more compact, with a distinctly shorter rostral appendage often flushed in red, and body coloration showing unique local patterns shaped by the cool plateau climate.

A recent genome‑scale study (Vences et al. 2026, Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution) demonstrated how complex the systematics of the brevicorne group truly are. It also showed clearly that C. crypticum is very likely not valid in the traditional sense, when the Ranomafana animals are counted to belong to this species. Counting the Ambohitantely population as C. crypticum makes perfect sense, as this population occurs on the original terra typica for this taxon. In the phylogeny, this population clustered near the Andasibe clade but remained clearly separated, suggesting long isolation and possible evolutionary independence.

In a landscape where forest survives only in fragments, the Ambohitantely dwarf Calumma crypticum represents a lineage shaped quietly by altitude, isolation, and time.

All the below depicted chameleons are NOT C. crypticum but represent different lineges. 

Courtesy Petr Bambousek

All photos: Jordancadiot, courtesy Jurgen van Overbeke

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