A chameleon that has the biggest growth spurt and the shortest lifespan of all known four legged animals is identified today.

The chameleon from the arid southwestern region of Madagascar spends up to three-quarters of its life in an egg. Even more unusual, it only survives around 20 weeks after hatching.

No other known four-legged animal has such a rapid growth rate and such an attenuated lifespan.

Furcifer labordi, not only has a brief, yearly life cycle, but the bulk of that time is spent incubating inside an egg. Once outside of the egg, all individuals in the population die within 4 to 5 months.

Hatching begins with the rains in November, and, once emerged, the chameleons develop rapidly, growing up to 2.6 mm (0.1 inches) a day - up to two orders of magnitude greater than other known lizard growth rates.

In less than 60 days, for example, there can be a four fold increase in body size for males to reach adulthood. After reaching maturity, the population reproduces, and females burrow through about 138 mm (5.4 inches) of sand to lay their eggs.

Once covered, the eggs wait out the dry season for the next 8 to 9 months, and all adults die.

"It is amazing to think that for most of the year, this chameleon species is represented only by developing eggs buried in the ground," says Raxworthy.

"This species really illustrates just how much there is still to discover about the natural history of Madagascar."
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