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Brookesia ambreensis

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family
ANIMALIA CHORDATA REPTILIA SQUAMATA CHAMAELEONIDAE

Scientific Name: Brookesia ambreensis
Species Authority: Raxworthy & Nussbaum, 1995
Common Name/s:
English – Amber Mountain Leaf Chameleon
Taxonomic Notes: Mitochondrial (but not morphological) evidence suggests that this species may be conspecific with B. antakarana (Townsend et al. 2010).

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria: Near Threatened ver 3.1
Year Published: 2011
Assessor/s: Jenkins, R.K.B., Andreone, F., Andriamazava, A., Anjeriniaina, M., Glaw, F., Rabibisoa, N., Rakotomalala, D., Randrianantoandro, J.C., Randrianiriana, J., Randrianizahana , H., Ratsoavina, F. & Robsomanitrandrasana, E.
Reviewer/s: Bowles, P. & Tolley, K.
Contributor/s:
Justification:
Listed as Near Threatened based on the species nearly qualifying for listing as Vulnerable under D2. The species is confined to a single site, Montagne d'Ambre, with a plausible future potential threat that could impact the species. If the threat became operational, the species would not likely qualify for listing as Critically Endangered; however, it would certainly immediately be eligible for listing as Endangered since its extent of occurrence is only 287 km², it would occur at a single location (where the threat would be habitat loss from agricultural activities and logging) and there would be a continuing decline in the quality and area of habitat (qualifying the species for the criteria B1ab(iii)).

Geographic Range [top]

Range Description:

This species is endemic to Madagascar and is only known from Montagne d'Ambre in the north of the island between 650 m and 1,150 m elevation (Raxworthy and Nussbaum 1995). It has an extent of occurrence of 287 km².
Countries:
Native:
Madagascar
Range Map: Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Population [top]

Population:

This species is common during the rainy season.
Population Trend: Stable

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:

This diurnal species has only been found in intact, mainly lowland humid forest where it roosts on shrubs, tree trunks and leaves at night (Raxworthy and Nussbaum 1995). There is no information on whether it occurs in degraded habitats.
Systems: Terrestrial

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):

There are no major threats to this species, but Montagne d'Ambre is under immediate future threat of several activities expanding into the park, including logging (charcoal), cattle grazing, agricultural clearance for rice production, and rosewood collection (N. D'Cruze and L. Durkin pers. comms. January 2011).

Conservation Actions [top]

Conservation Actions:

This species occurs in Parc National de Montagne d'Ambre. It is classed as a Category I, Class II species under Malagasy wildlife legislation. Further research is required to determine whether this species is conspecific with B. antakarana, and also whether it occurs in surrounding areas, such as Forêt d'Ambre. Monitoring of the area is required to identify emerging threats and to evaluate their impact on the population.
Citation: Jenkins, R.K.B., Andreone, F., Andriamazava, A., Anjeriniaina, M., Glaw, F., Rabibisoa, N., Rakotomalala, D., Randrianantoandro, J.C., Randrianiriana, J., Randrianizahana , H., Ratsoavina, F. & Robsomanitrandrasana, E. 2011. Brookesia ambreensis. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 19 June 2013.
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