Photo by Manuel Leal
Another anole bites the dust. Or does it? Over at Chipojolab, Manuel Leal reports the observation of a Puerto Rico racer apparently in the process of ingesting an Anolis krugi. But if you look carefully, the krugi is giving as good as he gets. Or at least doing his darned best. Will it be enough to fend off his demise? Seems unlikely given the size difference, but in lab trials, Leal and Javier Rodríguez-Robles showed that Anolis cristatellus often bites attacking racers on the snout and can hang on for as long as 20 minutes; in 37% of the trials, the lizard actually escaped. Admittedly, cristatellus is bigger and beefier than krugi, but who knows–maybe this guy lived to see another day.
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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