Leaf chameleon
Brookesia micra Glaw, Köhler, Townsend & Vences, 2012
The leaf chameleon (Brookesia micra), also called the Nosy Hara leaf chameleon, is a reptile in the lizard subgroup and belongs to the family Chamaeleonidae. It is placed in the genus Brookesia, suborder Iguania and order Squamata, within the class Reptilia.
Quick facts about the leaf chameleon
The species was named by Glaw, Köhler, Townsend & Vences, 2012. On the IUCN Red List it is assessed globally as Near Threatened (NT), which is not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 169.3 mgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 1.81 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Carnivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Reproduction
- Eggssrc for Reproduction
- Active
- By day (diurnal)src for Active
- Conservation status
- Near Threatened (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the leaf chameleon?
Photos of the leaf chameleon
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the leaf chameleon live?
Not recorded
What is the leaf chameleon?
Brookesia micra, also known as the Nosy Hara leaf chameleon, is a species of small chameleon from the islet of Nosy Hara in Antsiranana, Madagascar. At the time of its discovery, it was the smallest known chameleon and among the smallest reptiles, until the 2021 discovery of the even smaller B. nana. Adult B. micra can grow up to 29 mm (1.1 in) in length.
From the Wikipedia article “Brookesia micra” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Brookesia_micra&oldid=1383300032), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the leaf chameleon endangered?
The leaf chameleon is listed as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: it is close to qualifying as threatened.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Near Threatened species. What the categories mean.
How is the leaf chameleon classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyChamaeleonidae
- genusBrookesia
- SpeciesBrookesia micra Glaw, Köhler, Townsend & Vences, 2012
Other names and names in other languages (4)
- Nosy Hara leaf chameleonEnglish
- Nosy Hara-stumphalekamæleonDanish
- ミクロヒメカメレオンJapanese
- 迷你變色龍Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the leaf chameleon
Other species in the same genus Brookesia.
Minute leaf chameleon
Brookesia minima
Nano chameleon
Brookesia nana
Antsingy leaf chameleon
Brookesia perarmata
Brown leaf chameleon
Brookesia superciliaris
Plated leaf chameleon
Brookesia stumpffi
Spiny leaf chameleon
Brookesia decaryi
CompareLeaf chameleon vs Minute leaf chameleonLeaf chameleon vs Nano chameleonLeaf chameleon vs Antsingy leaf chameleonLeaf chameleon vs Brown leaf chameleon
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the leaf chameleon?
The leaf chameleon is a reptile in the lizard subgroup. It belongs to the family Chamaeleonidae in the order Squamata.
What is the scientific name of the leaf chameleon?
Its scientific name is Brookesia micra, placing it in the genus Brookesia.
Who named Brookesia micra?
Brookesia micra was named by Glaw, Köhler, Townsend & Vences, 2012.
Is the leaf chameleon endangered?
No. It is listed as Near Threatened (NT) in a global IUCN assessment, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
What other names does the leaf chameleon have?
It is also called the Nosy Hara leaf chameleon.
What family does the leaf chameleon belong to?
It belongs to the family Chamaeleonidae, within the suborder Iguania.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles · CC BY 4.0 · v1-2
Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4 - SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits · CC0 1.0 · 1.0-dryad-v5
Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Leaf chameleon (Brookesia micra). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/brookesia-micra
“Leaf chameleon (Brookesia micra).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/brookesia-micra.
@misc{brookesia_micra_2026,
title = {Leaf chameleon (Brookesia micra)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/brookesia-micra},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}