Nadzikambia

Mlanje Mountain Chameleon
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Lacertilia
Family:	Chamaeleonidae
Subfamily:	Chamaeleoninae
Genus:	Nadzikambia Tilbury, Tolley & Branch, 2006
Species:	N. mlanjensis
Binomial name
Nadzikambia mlanjensis (Broadley, 1965)
Synonyms
Bradypodion mlanjense Chamaeleo mlanjense Nadzikambia mlanjense

The Mlanje Mountain Chameleon, Nadzikambia mlanjensis, is presently the only species in the recently established genus Nadzikambia (derived from the species' name in Chichewa). It is a plesiomorphic, small chamaeleon from the Ruo Gorge forest on Mount Mulanje in Malawi.

Initially placed into Chamaeleo, it was for some time moved to the South African dwarf chameleons (Bradypodion) by some (Klaver & Böhme, 1986). This was criticized because plesiomorphies cannot be used to define clades, and eventually turned out to be in error (Tolley et al. 2004).

References

• Klaver, C.J.J. & Böhme, W. (1986): Phylogeny and classification of the Chamaeleonidae (Sauria) with special reference to hemipenis morphology. Bonner Zoologische Monographien 22: 1–64.
• Tolley, Krystal A.; Tilbury, Colin R. & Branch, William R. (2004): Phylogenetics of the southern African dwarf chameleons, Bradypodion (Squamata: Chamaeleonidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 30: 354–365. doi:10.1016/S1055-7903(03)00211-2 PDF fulltext
• Tolley, Krystal A.; Tilbury, Colin R. & Branch, William R. (2007): Corrections to species names recently placed in Kinyongia and Nadzikambia (Reptilia: Chamaeleonidae). Zootaxa 1426: 68.