Creation Is Amazing Isn't It?

I learned last night on a special about Madagascar that there is a Chameleon that is so specialized that its life span is only 3 months. It's because for 9 months there is no rain. So the eggs take 9 months to hatch. The babies come out with the first drops of rain. They are full size at 2 months and spend the last months breeding and lay eggs and then they all die shortly after.

They were very pretty. The males were bright green with various spots of color and the females were almost black with colored spots that just popped.

I can't remember the species name. It's likely to come on again over the weekend.

That's pretty cool. Nature certainly is amazing.

Thats crazy what channel was it?

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Originally Posted by Andybill

Thats crazy what channel was it?

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It was either AP or Discovery. They are right next to each other on my channel list and I just don't remember. Probably AP.

Damn I dont get any of those channels. Im on a budget so I only get a few mostly childrens channels for me and my daughter and I do get NatGeo but its not NatGeo wild so kinda bummed about that...

Thinking of this species stresses me out. Seriously, reading your post, and thinking about how delicate their entire population is, and how exact everything must be for their lives to work... makes me anxious. I mean.. if something happens, an entire population (or close to) could be wiped out very quickly. Wow!


Thinking about emperor penguins makes me sad too.

That is pretty incredible.

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IT is crazy how delicate natures balance is but also on the flip side how adaptable!

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Originally Posted by Anatopism

if something happens, an entire population (or close to) could be wiped out very quickly. Wow!

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Yet life will go on :D. The species around them will be affected. Adaptations will be made, and possibly new critters will form because of this.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

I learned last night on a special about Madagascar that there is a Chameleon that is so specialized that its life span is only 3 months. It's because for 9 months there is no rain. So the eggs take 9 months to hatch. The babies come out with the first drops of rain. They are full size at 2 months and spend the last months breeding and lay eggs and then they all die shortly after.

They were very pretty. The males were bright green with various spots of color and the females were almost black with colored spots that just popped.

I can't remember the species name. It's likely to come on again over the weekend.

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That is amazing.

OK, I'm evil. I'm wondering if it takes them nine months to develop in the egg, or if it doesn't and they're merely cued into breaking dormancy by the presence of water, like brine shrimp. Most animals with that kind of life cycle have eggs that stay dormant until they're triggered by moisture. Most of them have very short hatch times once water is available.

Wow! If someone could get colonies of those going, think of the potential there for instant feeder lizards....

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Originally Posted by Andybill

Damn I dont get any of those channels. Im on a budget so I only get a few mostly childrens channels for me and my daughter and I do get NatGeo but its not NatGeo wild so kinda bummed about that...

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off topic here but what service do you have that allows you to choose which individual channels you want?

That is a pretty cool story Mason. I wonder the same thing, if you were to get some eggs and add water, would they hatch? Also if someone were to get a colony established in captivity that could mean that youd be able to breed them like 4 times a year. Pretty cool stuff!

I believe the eggs DO diapause until the rainy season returns. They're also a bit tougher than they might seem--adults can live longer if prey is scarce.

There are a few species of Madagascan chameleon that rarely live longer than one year, I believe. One such species--which I think might have been the one on the show--is Furcifer labordi, Laborde's chameleon. Carpet chameleons (Furcifer lateralis) are also capable of producing clutches by 3 months of age, and tend to live less than a year in the wild.

Photo of a captive bred F. labordi: http://www.flickr.com/photos/48168457@N02/5499003785/

F. labordi is reportedly extremely shy, difficult to establish, and delicate in captivity.

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Originally Posted by MasonC2K

It was either AP or Discovery. They are right next to each other on my channel list and I just don't remember. Probably AP.

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Kind of off topic, but if the show wasn't about them attacking people I'd guess it wasn't AP. :P