The St. Luce reserve is located in the south-east of Madagascar, just 34 km north of the city of Tolagnaro (Fort Dauphin). The protected area includes beaches and rocky cliffs on the coast of the Indian Ocean, lowland rainforest, marshland, savannah-like plains, rivers and lagoons. The remaining rainforest is broken up into many small fragments. There is also a very large rare earth mining project in the area. 12 of the 17 forest fragments of St. Luce are affected by the mining work. A group of scientists has now studied the herpetofauna of the area in more detail.

Over a period of two years, reptiles and amphibians were searched for and captured in St. Luce. The searches were carried out with the naked eye along existing transects. In addition, ground traps were used for two weeks along four 100 m long lines. Five artificial shelters and five corrugated sheets were laid out at a total of 12 locations to check for animals after a certain period of time. Samples of tail tips and toes were taken and measurements taken, after which the animals were released back to their original locations. The species were identified by genetic analysis.

Of 17 rainforest fragments in St. Luce, the scientists found only one intact and another intact but heavily fragmented. All other forest fragments were found with clear signs of habitat destruction. A total of 22 amphibian and 54 reptile species were found. Four species of chameleons were among the reptiles: Palleon sp. aff. Nasus, Calumma tjiasmantoi, Furcifer major and Furcifer verrucosus. All four chameleon species occurred exclusively in the remaining intact or intact areas of the Angalavinaky, Ambandrika and Andranangy/Amboronteny/Agnalaro forests. In the forests already destroyed by the mine, no chameleons were found at all. Of the 76 amphibian and reptile species found, 13 were candidate species, which are presumably undescribed new species.

The authors point out that, according to the present study, the diversity of the herpetofauna in St. Luce is significantly greater than previously assumed. They suggest that several forest fragments should be included in the “Mining Avoidance Zones”, i.e. areas where rare earths should not be searched for, and that the protection status should be increased.

A littoral treasure trove: a comprehensive assessment of the herpetofauna of Sainte Luce, southeastern Madagascar
Sam Hyde Roberts, Marco Sannolo, Hoby Tsimijaly Longosoa, Ryan Clark, Leo Jhaveri, Gonçalo M. Rosa, Walter Cocca, Franco Andreone, Angelica Crottini
Systematics and Biodiversity 23(1): 2513472
DOI: 10.1080/14772000.2025.2513472

Photos: Chameleons found in St. Luce from the aforementioned publication