Nadzikambia

Nadzikambia
Nadzikambia baylissi
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Chamaeleonidae
Subfamily: Chamaeleoninae
Genus: Nadzikambia
Tilbury, Tolley & Branch, 2006

Nadzikambia (derived from their name in Chichewa) is a genus of chameleons. It includes two species of small, plesiomorphic chameleons from the Ruo Gorge forest on Mount Mulanje in Malawi and Mount Mabu in Mozambique.

Initially only a single species was recognized and placed in Chamaeleo. It was for some time moved to the South African dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion) by some (Klaver & Böhme, 1986). This was criticized because plesiomorphies cannot be used to define clades, and eventually turned out to be in error. In 2006, it was moved to its own genus Nadzikambia.[1] In 2010, the second species of Nadzikambia was described.[2]

  1. ^ Tolley, Krystal A.; Tilbury, Colin R. & Branch, William R. (2004): Phylogenetics of the southern African dwarf chameleons, Bradypodion (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30: 354–365. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00211-2 PDF fulltext Archived 2007-02-02 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Branch, W.R. & Tolley, K.A. (2010): A new species of chameleon (Sauria: Chamaeleonidae: Nadzikambia) from Mount Mabu, central Mozambique. Afr. J. Herpetol. 59(2): 157–172