For nearly 150 years, zoologists have taken the Pinocchio chameleon (Caluma gallus) at face value.. However, a recent reexamination detailed in Salamandra, the German Journal of Herpetology reveals that the chameleon is actually multiple species with elongated snouts worthy of the nickname.
Over 40 percent of the 236 known chameleon species around the world live on the island of Madagascar located off the East African coast. The reptiles are often recognizable for a variety of reasons, including their ballistic tongue they use to slurp up prey, their color changing abilities , and their independently mobile eyes that give them stereoscopic vision. But the male Pinocchio chameleon specifically possesses yet another striking trait: a bumpy and very lengthy nose.
First described in 1877 and also known as the lance-nosed or blade chameleon, C. gallus was named after the Latin word for rooster. While an understandable comparison, the lizard eventually became more commonly known for its resemblance to the famous, fib-prone Italian marionette.
For decades, researchers knew that the shape and size of the Pinocchio chameleon’s nasal appendage fluctuated animal-to-animal, but believed that it was simply a unique physical quirk. Using a technique known as museomics, a team at Germany’s Bavarian State Collections of Natural Histories obtained and studied DNA sequences collected from the museum’s old specimens. One of these precious samples dated as far back as 1836. Only after traveling back through time via DNA did they realize the taxonomic error stretching back nearly a century-and-a-half.
“The genetic analyses are conclusive: the nose chameleons have virtually fooled previous research,” study coauthor Frank Glaw said in a statement.
Glaw explained that the team’s study also confirmed each chameleon’s nose can quickly change in terms of color, shape, and length.
“Their evolution is possibly driven by the respective preferences of females in mate selection,” he added.
As it stands today, some lizards previously considered to be C. gallus are now reclassified as Calumma pinocchio. Additionally, a second new species called Calumma hofreiteri has been established apart from another chameleon, Calumma nasutum.
“The study shows the great potential of the new museomics methods to correctly identify historically collected specimens especially in species complexes,” added Miguel Vences, study coauthor and zoologist at the Technical University of Braunschweig.
Although Madagascar’s total number of known chameleons now tops out at exactly 100 separate species, many of their actual populations continue to dwindle. Regardless of its taxonomy, the IUCN says the Pinocchio chameleon remains endangered.
