{"id":15074,"date":"2025-05-25T16:09:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-25T14:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.madcham.de\/?p=15074"},"modified":"2026-03-09T09:58:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T08:58:36","slug":"calumma-peyrierasi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madcham.de\/en\/calumma-peyrierasi\/","title":{"rendered":"Calumma peyrierasi"},"content":{"rendered":"
\r\n\t\tCITES quotas<\/strong>
\nno legal export possible\t<\/div>\r\n\t\n

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First description: \"IUCN<\/a><\/h4>\n

(Brygoo, Blanc & Domergue, 1974)<\/p>\n

Origin of the species name:<\/h4>\n

\u00c9douard-Raoul Brygoo, Charles Pierre Blanc and Charles Antoine Domergue from the former Pasteur Institute in Antananarivo, Madagascar, dedicated the species to the French naturalist and biologist Andr\u00e9 Peyri\u00e9ras. Peyri\u00e9ras had been living in Madagascar since the 1950s. He undertook numerous expeditions on the island. In 1972, he took part in a research expedition as part of the so-called \u2018RCP 225\u2019. This expedition was initiated by the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in Paris, France, to discover new species. RCP was the abbreviation for \u2018Recherches Coop\u00e9ratives dur Programme pour l’etude de la Flore et de la Faune des Hauts Sommets de Madagascar\u2019, which translates as \u2018Programme for the Study of the Flora and Fauna of the Highest Peaks of Madagascar\u2019. On 30 November 1972, the first pair of Calumma peyrierasi<\/em> was discovered on this expedition and subsequently sent to France.<\/p>\n

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Distribution:<\/h4>\n

Calumma peyrierasi<\/em> occurs exclusively just below the summit of the Marojejy Mountains in north-eastern Madagascar. The species lives mainly in the unusual habitat between the edge of the montane rainforest and the area where almost only short grass and nothing else grows. The few finds of Calumma peyrierasi<\/em> are therefore limited to altitudes of 1900 to 2000 m. The vegetation in this area is low and shrubby, partly resembling heathland. Gnarled saplings and shrubs grow to a maximum height of one and a half to two metres here. The endemic dwarf bamboo Oldeania marojejyensis<\/em> grows in this area, as do various black-mouthed plants (Dichaetanthera<\/em> spp.).<\/p>\n

Marojejy is a national park that is very difficult to access. Travellers usually visit the two lower camps, which require several hours of walking to reach. However, Calumma peyrierasi<\/em> only occurs much higher up. The summit is at 2,132 metres \u2013 even from the highest camp, it is still an hour-long, extremely strenuous climb to reach it. Therefore, only a few travellers venture to climb above Camp Simpona (the third camp) or even higher to the summit. And the few who make it to the top need a lot of luck with the weather, which changes very quickly up here, to find the chameleon. As a result, Calumma peyrierasi<\/em> had only been photographed once or twice since 1972. We searched intensively for the species in Marojejy in both 2022 and 2025 and left identification material (laminated species descriptions and one of our field guides) on site. Shortly after our last stay, our local guide Franco Rajaoarison finally rediscovered Calumma peyrierasi<\/em>. The photos above in the slider were taken by him (and are used here with his kind permission).<\/p>\n

Appearance & size:<\/h4>\n

Calumma peyrierasi<\/strong> is one of the smaller chameleons. It reaches a length of only 10 to 11 cm from nose to tail tip, with females remaining even smaller at just under 9 cm. Both sexes have a raised crest that tapers towards the rear. In males, the rostral crest ends abruptly on both sides of the head and does not join together, but the two rostral crests do not extend beyond the upper lip. There is no parietal crest. A dorsal crest is only pronounced in males and ends at the base of the tail. There is no ventral crest in either sex.<\/p>\n

Calumma peyrierasi<\/em> are bright light green to yellow in colour, with only the insides of the extremities being reddish. A dark line runs from the tip of the nose to the tip of the helmet. Turquoise accents on the face are common. According to the original description, males have a bright yellow lateral stripe running across the body, in which two enlarged scales are embedded \u2013 we have not yet been able to see this. Females have a white belly stripe. Both sexes have a white area around the cloaca extending to the first third of the underside of the tail.<\/p>\n

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