{"id":4655,"date":"2017-09-16T19:40:11","date_gmt":"2017-09-16T17:40:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.madcham.de\/?p=4655"},"modified":"2025-01-29T14:59:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T13:59:25","slug":"furcifer-nicosiai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.madcham.de\/en\/furcifer-nicosiai\/","title":{"rendered":"Furcifer nicosiai"},"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

Jesu, Mattioli & Schimmenti, 1999<\/p>\n

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

The three Italian biologists Riccardo Jesu, Fabio Mattioli, and Giovanni Schimmenti from the Aquarium Genoa (Italy) dedicated the species to Guido Nicosia, then Italy’s ambassador to Madagascar. In 1997 he had enabled the three of them to go on an expedition to discover the species in Madagascar.<\/p>\n

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Distribution:<\/h4>\n

Furcifer nicosiai <\/em>only occurs in dry, hot western Madagascar. The rainy season in these dry forests is restricted to a few months a year. This species is known mainly from Tsingy de Bemaraha, but a more commonplace to find them is a little more northern in Kirindy forest. The distribution area is limited to a few intact forest areas. Most forests of this region have been slashed and burned, so they simply do not exist anymore. We’ve only found Furcifer nicosiai<\/em> in Kirindy. And even there it is very difficult to find this species during the rainy season. In 2021 further<\/a> localities<\/a> of the species in the Andringitra massif in southeastern Madagascar became known. Individual animals were discovered there at about 960-970 m a.s.l. in a dry forest. Furcifer nicosiai<\/em> seems to be more widespread than previously thought.<\/p>\n

Appearance and size:<\/h4>\n

Furcifer nicosiai<\/em> grows up to 17 cm in length of females and 28 cm in males from the nose to the tip of the tail. That means it is a middle-sized species in Madagascar. Both genders wear a half-high casque. Males have a dorsal ridge, females only some enlarged scales on the anterior part of the back. Only the throat has a ridge of 16 small scales in both genders. Concerning colors, males are more beige with brownish accents, broad white lateral stripe, and dark cross bands. Females are brownish with yellow or purple-blueish accents especially on the cheeks and inside the pink lateral stripe. Furcifer nicosiai<\/em> is usually confused with youngs of Furcifer oustaleti<\/em> that are very common in the same habitat. Since most guides in Kirindy cannot surely differentiate one species from the other, there are many wrongly described pictures on the world wide web.<\/p>\n

Life cycle:<\/h4>\n

Most Furcifer nicosiai<\/em> in Kirindy hatch in February. From the end of the rainy season, by the end of April, they grow rather slowly. Their next growth spurt comes during the next rainy season from October on. On average, they become 16-18 months old which is probably caused by harsh environmental conditions.<\/p>\n

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