Flamingo Land’s Dr. Andrew Marshall first discovered the animal while surveying monkeys in the Magombera Forest for the University of York Environment Department.

The specimen used to describe the new species was first spotted being eaten by a deadly twig snake, which spat out the hapless chameleon as the researcher approached!

The specimen was collected, tested and compared to two others found by scientists in the same area and has now been named Kinyongia magomberae (the Magombera chameleon) in research published in the African Journal of Herpetology.

Dr Marshall is co-author of the study alongside researchers from the Museo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, the South African National Biodiversity Institute, Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Stellenbosch.

He said: “Discovering a new species is a rare event so to be involved in the identification and naming of this animal is very exciting.

“Chameleon species tend to be focused in small areas and unfortunately the habitat this one depends on, the Magombera Forest, is under threat. Hopefully this discovery will support efforts to provide this area and others like it with greater protection.”

Dr Marshall, who is also Director of Conservation Science at the Flamingo Land theme park and zoo, is leading a research project investigating changes in the Magombera Forest. The forest is an important resource for people in the area and home to wildlife including endangered red colobus monkeys.