Anolis pogus. Photo from Wildlife of St. Martin.
The resemblance is uncanny
The diminutive A. pogus of St. Martin is sometimes referred to as the bearded anole. Since anoles lack hair, facial or otherwise, one might wonder where the name comes from. In fact, Mark Yokoyama explains on his Wildlife of St. Martin site, the name is a misnomer, a misguided translation of the specific epithet pogus. Rather than being derived from the Greek pogos, the name is a reference to the cartoon character Pogo the possum! Who else would be behind this than AA faithful Skip Lazell? Anyone have any other favorite anole scientific names?
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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Skip (James) Lazell
Guilty as charged! Mark tells the whole story excellently…. Skip
James Stroud
Superb!
Peter Mudde
well ‘favourite’ but ever since my son got impetigo, a decade ago, I wondered how Anolis impetigosus looked like.. Kind of fascinated me.
Quite a mystery species, isn’t it?