No, it’s not a hybrid, but why do some anoles do this? And how? Read all about it in a recent post on dust tracks on the web.
Photo by Luke Mahler.
I have noticed things like this myself. Some times when you noose a lizard, the scales underneath the noose turn dark. And so species show patterns when they are stressed that they don’t normally flaunt, like the A. garmani below. Anyone have thoughts or similar observations? Or a better photo of the phenomenon in garmani? Some images online suggest that males do this to a lesser extent when being aggressive to other males.
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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K.ra
Whenever I noose an Anolis grahami in the light phase and the animal subsequently becomes stressed and changes colour the scales under the noose always retain a blue green coloration. The same thing happens whenever you hold one of these anoles in the light or dark phase, the area of scales under your fingers always remains blue green and does not change colour with the rest of the animal if the pressure is released. Anolis grahami is also able to selectively change the colour of parts of its body (as shown here, and a more unusual example here) although strangely the colour split is always from top to bottom as opposed to right to left as in the A.carolinensis above.
As for the picture of A.garmani above,here’s a similar photo of a juvenile garmani
Simon Lailvaux
In A. carolinensis, males involved in fights do often turn dark, but usually completely brown in my experience. I’ve observed the same colour change under noosing, but not with regard to pressure. However, the mixing of brown and green colour is especially apparent in individuals that are sick or near death. When a green anole is at the point where it can’t “control” (for lack of a better word) its colour, it usually doesn’t make it.