The mayfly is known for its incredibly short adult life. After spending months as larvae, the adults finally hatches only to fly, mate and die within the space of a day. Now, in the dry south-west corner of Madagascar, scientists have discovered the lizard equivalent of the mayfly - Labord's chameleon (Furcifer Labordi).
The lifespan of Labord's chameleon is hardly as compressed as that of a mayfly, but it is extraordinarily short for a tetrapod (an animal with four legs and a backbone). From laying of egg to kicking of bucket, the lizard's entire life is played out in a year and 7 months of that is spent inside the egg. The adult chameleons hatch in unison in November and in April, the entire population dies en masse. We know the lifespans of over 1,700 species of tetrapods and none are as short as the Labord's chameleon's.
In fact, the ...
