Furcifer petteri, an Exceptional Beauty

The depicted female of Calumma petteri is simply exceptionally fabulous, exhibiting flawless symmetry, vibrant coloration, and a textbook example of phenotypic elegance among Malagasy chameleons. 

Picture courtesy  Kevin Stanford

Furcifer petteri is a medium-sized chameleon endemic to northern Madagascar, known primarily from the Montagne d'Ambre and surrounding humid forests. Males exhibit a prominent rostral appendage, smooth casque, and vivid green to bluish body coloration with pale lateral stripes. Females are less ornamented but often display strikingly patterned flanks when gravid. The species is arboreal, favoring dense montane rainforest from 800–1300 m elevation. Reproduction appears seasonal, with clutches of 8–15 eggs. F. petteri remains poorly studied in the wild, and although not currently considered threatened, its restricted range makes it vulnerable to habitat loss and fragmentation.