Nadzikambia

Tilbury, Colin R., Tolley, Krystal A. & Branch, William R., 2006, A review of the systematics of the genus Bradypodion (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae), with the description of two new genera, Zootaxa 1363, pp. 23-38 : 35-36

Nadzikambia genus nova

Type Species: Chamaeleo mlanjensis Broadley 1966

Composition: Nadzikambia mlanjense

Characterisation: The monophyly of Nadzikambia is established on the basis of a suite of mitochondrial and nuclear genetic characters and a unique hemipenis. The latter is rather short and stout with a short pedicel and shallow calyces. There are no rotulae on the apex, which are replaced with a pair of large fleshy, papillate lobes with scalloped edges.

At the sulcal base of each lobe are one or two pedunculated papillae ( Klaver & Böhme 1986).

The lungs show a structure similar to that of Kinyongia , with two pairs of long diverticulae trailing from the inferior and posterior surfaces of the lung. A series of four small septae alternate with five larger septae across the dorsal wall with several smaller septae arising from the ventral and cephalic walls. There is no gular pouch (Klaver 1977). The parietal peritoneum is unpigmented and reproduction oviparous.

The external morphology is largely conservative, and gular and ventral crests are absent. There is a weak dorsal crest, finely heterogeneous scalation that forms rosettes of tubercles on the lower flanks, and a low casque. Although cranial morphology remains undescribed, the external appearance of the cranial crests suggest that the cranium is constructed in the same manner as Kinyongia .

Distribution: Only known from sub-montane forest habitats in a few scattered localities on the Mulanje Massif in southern Malawi, Central Africa.

Etymology: The name is derived from “Nadzikambe”, the name for chameleon in ChiChewa, the language used by the tribe that lives in the area around Mulanje Mountain in southern Malawi. The name Nadzikambe is Latinised by terminating it with the suffix ia thus giving it a feminine gender.