This spiky chameleon was found by flashlight at night. The local guide considered it a serious biting threat, which is why it's on my hand and not his. I couldn't imagine that a chameleon could be a serious biting threat, but on the other hand the local guides have seen a lot more chameleons than I have.

As we were all admiring the many Phelsuma standingi that decorated the National Park entrance stations buildings and other structures, one of the park staff pointed out this nearby chameleon.

Here is a list of all the reptiles and frogs I saw on this 2023 trip to Madagascar.

This species is very similar to Furcifer oustaleti, which can also be found in the area. The males are pretty easy to tell apart; F. verrucosus has fewer but larger spiky scales along its spine. The first two photos here are of adult males. Females are harder to distinguish. It's still the case that F. verrucosus has fewer spiky scales along its spine, but the spiky scales are only just a teensy bit taller than ordinary scales. They are barely spiky at all, and can't always be seen clearly in photos. There are some color and pattern differences, but I'm not sure any of them are really consistent. For example, female F. verrucosus often have whitish chins and whitish stripes along their sides, and female F. oustaleti usually (always?) don't. So I think the rest of these are female F. verrucosus but I'm not certain.

King of the lodge bougainvillea!

A spiny chameleon in the spiny forest.