Old male passed over winter, tough overlord
For several years now, I have been noticing that Anolis carolinensis has been making a dramatic comeback in south Florida. In the last five years or so their numbers have exploded. Their resurgence began in the Florida Keys and they have been working their way north, recently reaching south Miami and now entering into central and northern Miami-Dade County. Unlike the original population of carolinensis, which favored rural environments, this new population is bold and holds its own against sagrei, still dominating the trunk-canopy, but ranging all across different ecological niches including completely urban environments (which carolinensis did not). However, these are simply field observations and conjecture on my part. Having said that, my theory is that they are actually a vigorous carolinensis-porcatus hybrid. I believe this not only because of their robust physical constitution when compared with the original carolinensis, but also because some within the population have the scapular ocellus normally found in porcatus while others in the same population do not and many have the white outline (like the old male in the picture), but not the inner dark portion of the ocelli and vice-versa.
Two contenders to take over turf (probably both offspring of old male). Notice one has prominent “eye-spot,” the other (victorious male) does not.
- Anolis cybotes or Anolis cristatellus? - April 4, 2013
- Anolis Carolinensis/Porcatus Hybrid? - March 27, 2013
- Red-Orange Anolis Sagrei - May 21, 2012
James Stroud
Hi Armando,
I think we may have jointly commented re: Miami carolinensis before somewhere on AA – at my place in south Miami I have a really healthy population of carolinensis that I often see at <2-3m height (in fact almost exclusively perching horizontal along the upper bar of a waist/chest high yard fence). I can't comment on the carolinensis/porcatus hybrid, but I can certainly reaffirm your observations that these Miami green anoles don't seem pushed to arboreality when in the presence of sagrei.
Interesting theory, I wonder if any AA contributor is working on this…
Armando Pou
Hi James, yes, I remember your post. It is amazing how these new greens are bolder.
Skip (James) Lazell
Very interesting theory, easily tested with DNA. I think your evidence is excellent, but in DNA lies the proof. Skip
Armando Pou
Hi Skip, I think that would be great study project. The expansion of these guys is still occurring. If in fact they are hybrids, I wonder if the population becomes more and more diluted as it expands north (Not sure if that can even be determined).
Rich Glor
Last time I checked nobody had a foolproof way to phenotypically distinguish carolinensis from porcatus. There are lots of little differences but nothing I’m aware of that is 100% diagnostic. If you see unusual animals it might be a good idea to take a small tissue sample for subsequent genetic analysis (assuming you have the legal right to do so, a small tail tip in alcohol should do the trick). I’m not aware of anyone working on the porcatus/carolinensis hybridization issue right now, but its an obvious project for somebody. Whoever does this will obviously need to identify some set of loci that can be used to distinguish these species, but I don’t imagine that will be a terribly complicated exercise given availability of the carolinensis genome.
Armando Pou
Hi Rich, very interesting; maybe a genetic analysis of populations from different parts of the county? Collecting the tail samples should not be a problem, particularly if they are in fact considered “exotic” to our area.
Marc Tollis
Rich,
I just wrote about this in a more recent thread:
https://www.anoleannals.org/2014/04/10/is-that-an-anolis-porcatus-in-miami/#comment-181727
John Rubin
Is there any chance that this little guy is a hybrid? He was under a hedge in a suburban neighborhood on the West Bank of New Orleans. Before I started seeing this species (a common sight now) I had only seen green anoles in my neighborhood, although I photographed a brown Anole on the East Bank. This specimen doesn’t seem a perfect fit for either species.
Please forgive me if this is a dumb question, as I am not a scientist, just someone interested in Anoles. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Armando Pou
Hi John,
In Lousiana huh? Wow, they have spread along the gulf big time! They will probably be in Texas soon. That looks like a male Anolis sagrei to me. They can vary greatly in coloration, but mainly in shades of brown, from very light tan to reddish orange to very dark brown.
best regards,
Armando
Armando Pou
That particular specimen appears to have a regenerated tail which may give it an odd appearance. Regenerated tails are usually more grey than brown. So you spotted him on the west bank of the Mississippi? That is interesting. They will probably continue to spread west through Louisiana, probably along US-90 or I-10. Not sure how far north they will survive, the gulf area will probably be their limit (for now).
John Rubin
Thanks. If I could ask a follow up question, though, what is this? When I photographed it in New Orleans City Park in November, 2012 I had no idea what it was. I had lived in New Orleans over 30 years and had never seen any Anoles besides carolinensis. Researching on line (which brought me to this site) I had identified it as sagrei. However, not only the coloration (including the distinctive pattern on the back) but the size and shape of the head look different.
As for the spread of sagrei, as I said I had never seen one before 2012. My backyard was a literal carolinensis playground. Sagrei now appears to be the dominant species. Although it does not seem as numerous as carolinensis once was, the green population seems to have declined more than the brown population increased.
Armando Pou
This one appears to be a female A. sagrei, although, I must admit it has some unique looking traits. Maybe founder effect? As for the carolinensis, look towards the treetops, they were probably displaced by sagrei. A. sagrei just seems better suited to disturbed habitats than carolinensis does. It relies more on ground speed and opportunistic feeding behaviors where carolinensis seems to be more of a stealth hunter and better built for an arboreal existence. (just one layman to another).