The best anole fossils have been found in amber [e.g. 1,2]. Amber is, of course, fossilized tree resin, and I have often wondered how likely it would be that a lizard would manage to get itself stuck in tree resin. After all, as we know from catching them, small lizards are nothing if not agile.
Sitana ponticeriana is a small agamid lizard found in dry habitats across South Asia. Though most commonly found in disturbed, open habitats, they also occur in the rapidly dwindling stands of thorn scrub forest found across India.These forests are dominated by resin-producing Acacias, and are being invaded by the resin-producing Prosopis juliflora.
Acacia forest in Kutch, India
This sort of forest is exactly where you might expect to find lizards interacting with resin, and here is an example. This female Sitana ponticeriana, caught in the forest shown above, had a finger on her front foot completely stuck in a little ball of resin. It is easy to imagine how a slightly smaller lizard or a slightly larger piece of resin could result in an inextricable lizard and, in several thousand years, a very cool fossil!
Female Sitana ponticeriana with resin stuck to her toe
- Field Assistant Needed for Anolis Research in Florida! - March 4, 2020
- Are Brown Anoles in Florida Really Driving Green Anoles to Extinction III: A Post-Irma Update - September 15, 2017
- Evolution 2017: Spatial Structuring of Urban Green Anoles - June 30, 2017
Pat Shipman
I also have rescued a few skinks (I know, they are not Anolises, but they are similar in size & shape) from spiderwebs. One was hanging by its tail from a single thread! So getting stuck is not as hard as we imagine, I guess.
Ambika Kamath
I’ve seen geckos in Nephila spider webs too, but not anoles. Has anyone seen an anole get caught in a spider web?
Peter Mudde
Resin and spiderwebs are a bit different. To end up in a spiderweb is much more a ‘conincidence’ ten getting glued to resin. There are just more spiderwebs I gather..
I haven seen a anole in a spiderweb in Costa Rica.. A juvelile, match-sized A. limifrons.
James (Skip) Lazell
I cannot add much to my previous comment, in reference 1, above. EEW did not want to deal with it because there were no caudal vertebrae, so no way to know if a “Norops” or not…. I got the job of describing it. Hope some of you can improve on and update that!
I have several times seen anoles in Nephila spider webs: will look for photos…. Skip
Amber Wright
Here’s a little guy (A. sagrei) caught in an Argiope sp. web in the Exumas, Bahamas.