And it’s a looker!
The species, described recently in Amphibian & Reptile Conservation by Fernando Ayala-Varela and colleagues, comes from the western slope of the Andes in Ecuador. In appearance, it’s most similar to A. gemmosus, which occurs to the north. Detailed examination shows it to be most phenotypically similar to that species and A. otongae, and DNA analysis indicates that A. gemmosus is its sister taxon.
Check out the paper, which has lots of lovely photos not only of the new species, but of some of the species with which it is sympatric.
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 Lazell
Congratulations: beautiful indeed! Skip