Three Days Old Posthumous Baby: Newly Described Calumma pinocchio, a memory of Gunther Köhler
Just a few days ago, a major taxonomic paper was published by a large team of authors — Glaw, Agne, Prötzel, Gehring, Köhler, Preick, Ratsoavina, Straube, Wollenberg Valero, Crottini & Vences (2025) — formally describing a new chameleon species: Calumma pinocchio. The discovery resolves a long-standing ambiguity surrounding Calumma gallus, originally described by Günther in 1877.
For decades, two distinct forms were observed under the name C. gallus: one with a serrated rostral appendage, and one with a smooth one. The new study combines molecular data and historical evidence to confirm that the serrated form is indeed the true C. gallus, while the smooth-snouted variant — far more frequently photographed and misidentified — is a cryptic, previously unrecognized species: Calumma pinocchio.
Interestingly, evidence of this distinction had been hanging unnoticed on this very site for months, quietly waiting for the scientific world to catch up.
In Memory of Dr. Gunther Köhler (1965–2025)
An unusual and deeply sad note accompanies the recent publication of Calumma pinocchio: one of its coauthors, Dr. Gunther Köhler, contributed to the manuscript shortly before his sudden passing at age 60. Though he did not live to see the paper published, his work remains embedded in its pages — a final scientific legacy from a life devoted to herpetology.
Born in Hanau, Germany, Köhler earned his doctorate in 1995 with a thesis on black iguanas (Ctenosaura). He served as curator and later acting director at the Senckenberg Research Institute, where he led groundbreaking research on neotropical reptiles, especially in Central America and the West Indies.
Köhler rediscovered the Utila iguana (Ctenosaura bakeri) in 1994 and launched a breeding program to protect it. He revised the Anolis species of Hispaniola in 2016, describing eight new species, and coauthored the formal description of over 120 reptiles and amphibians across multiple genera.
Beyond science, he played country music with the band Flaggstaff and supported reptile education through Herpeton Verlag, founded by his wife Elke.
His sudden death on June 15, 2025, leaves a void in the herpetological community. Yet his final contribution — helping distinguish Calumma pinocchio from C. gallus — stands as a testament to his lifelong dedication to taxonomy, conservation, and the animals he loved.
Rest in peace, my dear friend, I will always remember your kindness, humour, love for Music and Science... We meet one day again... On the other side.
Original post from www.chameleons.info indicating two separate forms within C. gallus
