Nadzikambia
Encyclopedia
There are currently two species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...

 in the recently established genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...

 Nadzikambia (derived from the species' name in Chichewa
Chichewa language
Chewa, also known as Nyanja, is a language of the Bantu language family. The gender prefix chi- is used for languages, so the language is also known as Chichewa and Chinyanja.-Distribution:...

). They are plesiomorphic, small chameleons from the Ruo Gorge forest on Mount Mulanje in Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

 and Mount Mabu
Mount Mabu
Mount Mabu is both a mountain and its associated virgin rainforest located in northern Mozambique. The forest covers about 7,000 hectares, while Mount Mabu itself is approximately in elevation. Even though it was known locally, the Mount Mabu forest and its extremely diverse wildlife were unknown...

 in Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...

.

Initially placed into Chamaeleo
Chamaeleo
Chamaeleo is a genus of chameleons found primarily in the mainland of sub-saharan Africa, but a few species are also present in northern Africa, southern Europe and southern Asia east to India and Sri Lanka. They are slow moving with independently movable eyes, the ability to change skin...

, 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 clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...

s, and eventually turned out to be in error (Tolley et al. 2004).

Species

  • Mount Mabu Chameleon, Nadzikambia baylissi
    Nadzikambia baylissi
    The Mount Mabu Chameleon, Nadzikambia baylissi, is presently one of two species in the recently established genus Nadzikambia . It is a small chamaeleon from Mount Mabu in Mozambique....

  • Mlanje Mountain Chameleon, Nadzikambia mlanjensis
    Nadzikambia mlanjensis
    The Mlanje Mountain Chameleon, Nadzikambia mlanjensis, is presently one of two species in the recently established genus Nadzikambia...

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