Brookesia valerieae is a species of chameleon, a lizard in the family Chamaeleonidae. The species is endemic to Madagascar. It was first described by Raxworthy in 1991. The IUCN have classed this species as endangered, and it is affected by slash-and-burn agriculture. It is not a protected species.
The specific name, valerieae, is in honor of Valerie M. Raxworthy.
An insectivore is a carnivorous plant or animal that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of e...
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. Precocial species are normall...
Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some anima...
Ambush predators are carnivorous animals that capture or trap prey by stealth, luring, or by (typically instinctive) strategies utilizing an elemen...
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starts withB. valerieae is endemic to the Manongarivo Special Reserve (Manongarivo Reserve) in the region of Diana, Madagascar, which is also the species' type locality.
It has only been found at Manongarivo and the Ramena River, which are 7 km (4.3 mi) away from each other. If the species covers the whole area between the reserve and the river, it will be 2,589 km2 (1,000 sq mi) in area, but this has not been confirmed.
The preferred natural habitat of B. valerieae is forest, at altitudes of 500–700 m (1,600–2,300 ft).
B. valerieae is oviparous.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature have classed B. valerieae as an endangered species on their Red List of Threatened Species, as the scale of habitat loss is very high in that area, and is mainly affected by the slash-and-burn method of agriculture. B. valerieae has been used as part of the pet trade/industry. The species occurs in some reserves, but it is currently not a protected species.
