侏儒枯葉變色龍

As expected for its tiny size, the minute leaf chameleon consumes minute prey, including small fruit flies, white flies and spring tails. When not foraging in the deep leaf litter, the minute leaf chameleon climbs up onto thin branches to sleep. Being so small, the minute leaf chameleon could become prey for many forest predators, but it has a number of cunning ways to avoid being eaten. When threatened by a predator, it will first rely on its remarkable camouflage. If the predator continues approaching, it will close its eyes, to hide even the slightest movement. If touched, or the branch on which it is perched is shaken, the minute leaf chameleon will drop to the ground like a piece of dead wood and feign death until the danger has passed. In addition, when gripped, this chameleon vibrates at a high-frequency, a behaviour that is thought to deter small predators like ants (2). Courtship in the minute leaf chameleon begins with a male walking around a female making nodding and rocking movements. Non-receptive females react with jerky side movements, causing the male to cease his advances, while a receptive female allows the male to follow them throughout the day. After a lengthy courtship, which could last up to several days, the male mounts the female and is carried on her back until copulation takes place in late evening or night. 30 to 40 days following mating, the female deposits a clutch of two eggs, a few millimetres deep in the substrate. Hatching takes place around three months later (2).

The minute leaf chameleon is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), meaning that trade in this species should be carefully controlled in order to be compatible with their survival (1). The minute leaf chameleon has also been recorded from at least one protected area, the Manongarivo Reserve (2) , although illegal harvesting or other activities that degrade the forest habitat may lessen any benefits this bestows.

Often considered to be the smallest species of the diminutive stump-tailed chameleons, (Brookesia species), the minute leaf chameleon is one of the smallest reptiles in the world (3). The cylindrical body is camouflaged in shades of green, brown and grey, often with a lichen-like striped pattern. Often there is a pale beige patch on the chameleon's front, believed to play a role in communication or mate recognition. The tiny head is relatively flat with a short, downwards pointing snout, and a row of small, spiny scales runs along each side of the backbone. Male minute dwarf chameleons are shorter in length and have a longer tail than females (2).

The minute leaf chameleon inhabits the leaf litter of evergreen primary rainforest. It prefers areas with sparse undergrowth, where there is a layer of dead leaves up to ten centimetres deep (2).

Occurs in parts of northern and north-western Madagascar. Minute leaf chameleons are a difficult species to identify correctly and only populations inhabiting the offshore island of Nosy Bé and the neighbouring mainland can be said with certainty to be this species of Brookesia (2).

Listed on Appendix II of CITES (1).

Brookesia chameleons are threatened by two significant factors: habitat destruction and harvesting for the international pet trade (4). The natural forests of Madagascar are being degraded by agriculture, timber extraction, and industrial and small-scale mining (5). As a result, the specific habitat of the minute leaf chameleon is rapidly declining and may disappear with continued disturbance (2). Harvesting is also likely to be threatening the survival of minute leaf chameleons, but the extent of the impact is not clear. In 2001, 162 minute leaf chameleons were exported from Madagascar for the pet trade, and harvesting has even been recorded within protected areas (4).