Rhampholeon (Rhinodigitum) bruessoworum, Branch, William R., Bayliss, Julian & Tolley, Krystal A., 2014

Branch, William R., Bayliss, Julian & Tolley, Krystal A., 2014, Pygmy chameleons of the Rhampholeon platyceps compex (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae): Description of four new species from isolated ‘ sky islands’ of northern Mozambique, Zootaxa 3814 (1), pp. 1-36 : 28-31

Rhampholeon (Rhinodigitum) bruessoworum sp. nov.

Mount Inago Pygmy Chameleon

Synonymy: Rhampholeon sp. Bayliss et al. 2010, p17. fig. 13.

Etymology. The specific epithet honours the contributions of the brothers Carl and Darren Bruessow to the protection of wildlife in southern Malawi, particularly via the Mount Mulanje Conservation Trust. Types. The type series comprises three specimens, including:

Holotype.- An adult female ( PEM R20375; Fig. 9 A) collected by J. Bayliss, 5 September 2009, in a small patch of wet forest at the base of a granite inselberg of Mt. Inago, Zambézia Province, Mozambique (15˚04'51”S 37˚23'37”E, ca 1478 m a.s.l.).

Allotype. An adult male ( PEM R20376, Fig. 9 B), same collecting details as holotype.

Paratype. An adult female ( PEM R20374), same collecting details as holotype.

Meristics. Measurements of the type series of Rhampholeon bruessoworum sp. nov. are summarized in Table 9 .

Diagnosis. The Mt. Inago Pygmy Chameleon is referable to Rhampholeon (subgenus Rhinodigitum) by possessing an unpigmented parietal peritoneum, claws that are strongly bicuspid, smooth plantar surfaces, and a rostral process. It can be distinguished from most other species in Rhampholeon (Rhinodigitum) by having deep inguinal (absent or indistinct in Rh. boulengeri , Rh. nchisiensis , Rh. uluguruensis , and Rh. moyeri ) and axillary pits (also absent in Rh. nchisiensis ). It differs from Rh. platyceps and Rh. maspictus sp. nov. in its small size (<50 mm SVL), relatively large rostral process in males, and weakly developed crenulations along the dorsal crest. It differs from Rh. chapmanorum in having a relatively large rostral process in males (small in both sexes in Rh. chapmanorum ), and from all other members of the Rh. platyceps complex in Mozambique (i.e. Rh. maspictus sp. nov., Rh. nebulauctor sp. nov. and Rh. tilburyi sp. nov.) in having a relatively longer tail in both sexes. From all other Rhampholeon it is also genetically well differentiated, and all chameleons examined form a monophyletic clade.

Description of Holotype. Adult female, viscera exposed by a single ventral incision.

Head: Dorsum of head flattened, with no upward flexure of the snout; casque flat, edged with weakly-defined lateral crests that are mainly restricted to the posterior region of the casque; temporal crest weakly-developed, comprising a single, interrupted row of large tubercles; parietal crest almost absent, composed of a few enlarged tubercles in the mid-line; supraorbital ridges reduced to a few scattered enlarged scales but with a very small multiscaled process forming a ‘soft horn’ at each end of the inter-orbital ridge that passes across the crown and is composed of 10 small granular tubercles, and that demarcate the posterior edge of a slight frontal depression; inferior orbital rim with 4 (right) and 5 (left) enlarged tubercles; snout bordered on each side by moderately developed rostral crests, that fuse together at the tip of the snout which is adorned with a very small, flattened rostral process (1.6 mm) which underneath is only slightly free from the rostral, and is four small tubercular scales long and four tubercular scales wide at its base; nares opening posterio-ventrally; no gular or mental appendages; scales on throat homogenous, more conical but smaller than those on crown of head and subequal in size to those on the belly.

Body: Dorsal crest very weakly developed, reduced to 9 crenulations of enlarged, but not obviously spinose scales; crenulations most strongly developed over mid-body, reduced in size over on neck and which are present on the tail in more reduced form; deep axillary and inguinal pits are present; flank scalation heterogeneous, composed of small, stellate granules with few scattered, enlarged spinose tubercles, the largest at the shoulder and in two clusters; chest, belly and lower surface of tail smooth; limb scalation more tubercular, with a few enlarged, spinose tubercles on the forearms; claws strongly bicuspid; accessory planter spines on the soles of the fore and hind feet are present, but reduced to very small, soft, spinose scales at the base of the claws; tail flattened laterally, flexing downward on the distal third.

Colour in life (based on two images of holotype, JB; Fig. 9 A): Mid-body mottled brown with two narrow, oblique purple-brown lateral stripes; dorsal surface of fore-body, neck, top of head and upper surfaces of limbs darker brown; Throat lightly mottled cream extending onto chin and labials, which have a light yellow flush; belly and base of tail pale brown.

Colour in preservative: Body mottled brown with two narrow oblique reddish-brown bars on mid-flanks; lower surface of neck, belly, base of tail, soles of feet, and lower limbs pale brown.

Description of Allotype (as for holotype, unless noted): Adult male, incision along base of tail with hemipenal muscle removed; hemipenes not everted.

Head: Parietal crest almost absent, composed of a four enlarged tubercles in the mid-line; five enlarged tubercles on both sides of the inferior orbital rim; rostral process six small tubercular scales long and four tubercles wide at base.

Body: Dorsal crest very weakly developed, reduced to nine crenulations of enlarged but not obviously spinose scales, subequal in development to those of the female holotype; tail relatively long (30.5% SVL), with a prominent hemipeneal bulge.

Colour in life (based on two images of allotype; Fig. 9 B): Mid-body mottled brown with small orange brown blotches along dorsal crest, separated by 2–3 crenulations; throat, belly and lower surfaces of limbs and tail pale brown.

Colour in preservative: After preservation body pale brown with vestiges of two narrow oblique stripes on the flanks; pale brown below.

Paratype variation (as for holotype, unless noted): Adult female with a large ventral incision. The ‘soft horn’ on the supraorbital ridge is very small and hardly protrudes; only four enlarged tubercles on inferior orbital rim; plantar spines very reduced to small, soft, spinose scales.

Size. Presumably a small species, as all three specimens in the type series were sexually mature, with turgid testes or developing ova. Largest male - PEM R20376 (allotype) 39.0 + 17.1 = 56.1 mm; largest female—PEM R20374 (holotype) 47.5 + 15.3 = 62.7 mm.

Distribution. Restricted to the type locality; Mt. Inago, Zambézia Province, northern Mozambique.

Habitat. The Inago Massif shows habitat zonation, and is surrounded by Brachystegia woodland at the base. The type series were collected at night in mid-altitude (~ 1500 m) evergreen forest at the base of a granite inselberg ( Fig. 9 C). This forest type comprised relatively large trees between 20-30 m high, with the upper canopy layer composed of species such as Drypetes natalensis, Schefflera umbellifera and Newtonia buchananii , whilst the midcanopy layer (<20 m) was dominated by Chrysophyllum gorungosum, Myrianthus holstii, bridelia sp. and Garcinia sp. These remnant forest patches are greatly reduced in size (<10 ha), fragmented, and highly threatened (Bayliss et al. 2010).

Figures

FIGURE 9. Rhampholeon bruessoworum sp. nov.: A—Holotype; B—Allotype; C—Habitat on Mt. Inago (J. Bayliss).

Tables

TABLE 9. Measurements (mm) for the type series of Rhampholeon bruessoworum sp. nov. from Mount Inago, Mozambique (PEM: Port Elizabeth Museum).

Sex	PEM R20375 Holotype F	PEM R20376 Allotype M	PEM R20374 Paratype F
Snout-vent length Tail length Total length	47.3 14.8 62.1	39.0 17.1 56.1	47.5 15.3 62.7
Head length Head width Orbit diameter	15.0 9.2 4.4	14.5 7.9 4.1	15.9 9.7 4.9
Snout length Inter-orbital Rostral process	5.6 6.3 1.6	4.8 6.5 2.1	5.6 6.8 1.6
Casque to Eye	10.8	10.4	11.8