A Poem About Anolis Orcesi

Not quite sure what to make of this, so I thought I’d throw it out to the AA readership. Almost a year and a half ago, I wrote several posts about a field expedition to Ecuador to study the phenacosaur, A. orcesi. Recently, the blog Ponderingspawn.com posted this: “Poonam absolutely delighted me with his poem: This poem is inspired by the traalivs of searching for the elusive Phenacosaurus orcesi during a trip to Baeza, Ecuador last summer:The phenacosaur awakens from dreams of juicy prey,The volcano Antisana shines brightly in the day.Perched on a twig, he rests safely assured,“Those silly humans don’t know what they’re looking for!”Skirting the road edges with trucks whizzing by,No lizards in sight, oh! how time doth fly.Binoculars in hand and scanning the brush,The orcesi are hidden in the leaves so lush.The day slips by till the moon rises high,The time for finding an orcesi is nigh.Alack! Alas! A lizard in sight!But it’s only A. fitchii, try as we might.

Ah yes, the elusive Phenacosaurus Orcesi. I know it well, having once made battle with the beast in the depraved depths of an Irish glen (Pheancosaurus can only live in depravity, so therefore the glen must have been depraved, yay logic!). And now two times are nigh, that of Jesus and of finding the elusive (and depraved) Orcesi. Perhaps there is a connection?”

Thoughts, anyone?

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Jonathan Losos

Professor of Biology and Director of the Living Earth Collaborative at Washington University in Saint Louis. I've spent my entire professional career studying anoles and have discovered that the more I learn about anoles, the more I realize I don't know.

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