no legal export possible
from 2014 to 2016 150 animals were allowed for export, in 2017 250 animals, but zero quota since 2018
First description:
Brygoo & Domergue, 1975 
Origin of the species name:
Édouard-Raoul Brygoo (later working at the Natural History Museum in Paris, France) and Charles Antoine Domergue of the then Institut Pasteur in Antananarivo, Madagascar, dedicated the species to the French naturalist and first finder of the species, André Peyriéras. Peyriéras lived temporarily in Maroantsetra in the northeast of Madagascar. In 1969, in the forest of Fantanendra, a little north of Maroantsetra, he found the animal described by Brygoo and Domergue a little later and sent it to France.
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Distribution:
Brookesia peyrierasi lives in the rainforest of Madagascar’s northeast coast at the island Nosy Mangabe which is part of Masoala national park. They shall also occur in the largely unprotected Makira massif, but this could even be another species. They live in the thick foliage on the ground of dense forests and are accordingly difficult to find.
Appearance & size:
With a maximum length of 4 cm, this is a dwarf among chameleons and part of the minima group. Both genders are bright beige colored and do not wear a dorsal crest, but enlarged scales to both sides of it. The males have a bony appendage above the eye. Some individuals have a small tubercle on the hip.
Good to know:
If chameleons of this species feel threatened, they press arms and legs to their body and plump down. Due to their minimal weight, even drops from one meter above the ground will not harm them seriously.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Average temperature | 24 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
| Minimum temperature | 20 | 21 | 20 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 20 |
| Maximum temperature | 28 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 27 | 27 | 28 |
| Rain days | 26 | 23 | 25 | 19 | 17 | 18 | 21 | 21 | 16 | 17 | 20 | 24 |
We have collected the data given above over several years with thermometers and hygrometers at the finding places of the chameleons. "Average temperature" means that values of a whole month have been calculated to one average value per month. For example all measured minimum temperature values of February have been calculated to one average minimum temperature for February. In plain language, this means single peak values of a day may be a little higher or lower than the average minimum and maximum temperatures. It is possible that a location has an average maximum temperature of 29°C, but one day during that month it had 33°C or even 35°C there.
Climate on Nosy Mangabe is a very humid place. It is raining all year long with especially intense precipitation during rainy season. The rainforest of this island reaches right to the edge of the beach, and is an old forest with many huge trees and much undergrowth.
Temperatures on Nosy Mangabe are rather constant all over the year with few variation. Temperatures during daytime reach 25°C, in rainy season they might be around 30°C. Instead dry season has cooler temperatures, but only few °C less: It is still warm with around 25°C during the day. At night, temperature drops only few degrees.
We have measured UVB data with a Solarmeter 6.5 in spring (end of March) at the peak of activity of chameleons in Madagascar. We always measured the values that a chameleon could maximally reach in its habitat.
Habitat:
The following pictures show the habitat of Brookesia peyrierasi on Nosy Mangabe. These tiny chameleons love to live on the mossy ground between leaves, dead wood and especially on the feet of big trees. The environment is very humid all year round.
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