A common question is whether green anoles (A. carolinensis) and brown anoles (A. sagrei) can interbreed. I am unaware of any hybrids between the two species, and given their long evolutionary separation, it seems unlikely that they could reproduce successfully. Nonetheless, occasional reports of interspecific matings are made, and here’s another.
Mitchell Gazzia posted this photo on his Facebook page, and provided these details:
Took place in late June of 2012 in Melbourne, the Lake Washington area in Brevard County…very close to the intersection of Lake Washington and Turtlemound roads.
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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Ellen Steinhardt
I saw a green and brown anole mating today in my yard in Dunedin, FL.
Bob
I believe it, I have a dominant green anole that runs my fence line, I’ve seen him mating twice with brown Cuban anoles I’m on the panhandle
Len
I just photographed a green male mating with a brown female. This occurred on the outside of my pool screen in Florida. They separated and his red penis was visible. Fascinating!
Casey
I also saw something similar- a green male mating with a brown female. Unfortunately I accidently broke up the action before it could be documented. I too saw a red protuberance retract from the green male. Wild stuff!
Dave
For whatever it’s worth, I just observed a green anole attempt to mate a female brown. Both are captive, the green for several years and the brown introduced some months ago.
In order to be sure I was seeing what I thought I was [there are also 15 green females and one brown male in the enclosure], I got too close and they separated. Alas no time to get any pics, but the one already posted above says enough.
Naturally I had to find out if there was any precedent online, which led me to this website. Just maybe some things really are meant to be.
“… the more I learn about anoles, the more I realize I don’t know.” Professor Losos describes my own experience perfectly. Fascinating creatures loaded with surprises, and I’ll venture as intelligent as reptiles get.
William Thompson
HAVE ANY OFFSPRING BEEN FOUND FROM THIS CROSSING OF SPECIES?… I HAVE BOTH GREEN AND BROWN WHERE I LIVE, BUT HAVE NEVER SEEN CROSS BREEDING.. INTERESTING SUBJECT…
Julie
I saw a green tinted brown anole today. If I see him again I will try to get a photo of him.
Chad
I just saw a mix carolina and brown! Not suree how to post pic. I am in neptune beach.
AsaBee
I’m in Jax westside Cedar Hills area. Email it the pic to me, I’ll post it for you. “csickpuppy3@gmail.com” not to worry, it’s my junkmail address, the one I give out when organizations I don’t want to talk to insist on getting an e-address,
Jennifer
This is in my yard today. Size of a brown/Cuban ankle but green. Interesting wondering if it could be a cross-breed because of the back stripe.
William Thompson
I certainly hope so!!..
Sophie
I actually found one like that in Texas and I would be thrilled if it was a cross-breed. I’d be a bit bummed if it’s a female green anole with unique striping. But I e never seen them with the singular stripe and they’re always a bit more blended.
Gregory C. Mayer
No, it’s a fairly typical A. carolinensis. The back stripe is quite common in females and younger males. See comment below by George Gorman.
Amanda
I just ended up here because I have green lizards all over my yard. I occasionally see the brown. But today I saw a green one with a dorsal appendage just on the back of the head. I was curious if this was the result of a cross between the 2. I have a photo but no option to post it.
Jonathan Losos
They raise their “nuchal crests” when engaged in aggressive encounters. That is probably what you observed.
George C Gorman
The pictured anoles look like female carolinensis to me. A. sagrei and A. carolinensis have very different karyotypes (chromosome arrangement)…. perhaps sufficient to serve as prezygotic isolating mechanism. If they COULD produce a hybrid, I suspect the f-1’s would be sterile. Meiosis wouldn’t work.
These assumptions are made based on a sample size of one case…hybridization of
A. aeneus and A. trinitatis … which I worked on about a half century + ago.
I would be very interested in learning about other demonstrated cases of anole hybridization whether discovered in the field or created intentionally or accidentally in captive colonies. (I admit, I’ve not kept up on the literature).
Mama B
We’ve had a brown anole male since February and since I didn’t want to deal with babies I got him a green female 2 weeks ago and whoa! They are constantly going at it! It’s definitely been a lesson in the facts of life for my 12 year old daughter! So far Ivy (green female) has already laid one egg and with all the banging they are doing if anyone will hybridize it will be them. So if I see any juveniles we’ll know that it’s possible. Well, that or it’s parthenogenesis. I don’t really want to do deal with babies (I foster kittens and that’s enough for me) but to see something so unique would be kinda neat.
William Thompson
Please do keep us updated!…. This would be seen as proof that it is possible to rear a “hybrid” species….
San
Have any eggs hatched?
amie sacco
What ever happened with the egg??
Susan
I used to have a female brown Anole named Oreo. She was in a habitat with green and brown Anoles. She preferred mating with one of my male green Anoles. And on a daily basis…She laid eggs, but I lived in an apartment. The humidity was not good for incubation, unfortunately. Would have loved to see what could have been.
Tj
Witnessed this today in Palm Harbor, Fl
Jennifer Gregory
Spotted this one in south Texas, it was large and shaped like our regular green anole, but with the head Crest of a brown
William Thompson
This certainly looks convincing to me.. It appears to have characteristics of both the green and the brown Anole.. I like it… I live near Houston and only once have I seen a brown Anole at my residence..
Gregory C. Mayer
An adult male A. carolinensis. They can raise a nuchal crest when excited, too.
Amanda Lewis
Added a green male anole to my enclosure that houses a brown anole female. Same thing, he went at her pretty quick. They are the only two in there so I will keep you posted on offspring resulting, if any.
William Thompson
Thanks for posting.. Am waiting for results!…
Kenn
Just saw this female green this morning living in my topiary in Palm Bay, FL. Definitely a stripe on her back and we do have both green and brown anoles at our house.
Dee Cosentino
I was hoping they could mate because I have a bunch of brown anoles on my patio area but only one green anole male here in south Texas. I hope he can find a mate 🙁
Erika
Same, I have only seen one little green female anole amidst a sea of brown anoles
Jim Adams
It’s not like I’m a peeping Tom or some other type of “P”. While I’ve never seen the two doing it, I have seen what I would swear was numerous crosses between the two.
Erika
I have a medium sized green girl that climbs up on my window to hunt for fruit flies. She’s around so much I’ve named her Emmy, short for her bright emerald color. During the spring they’re all over the screens doing their business, it’s hard not to see. And to see. Lol
Nicole
Saw a breeding pair today in DeBary, Fl.
Robert Jester
I have brown’s and greens as well. some young, that I am not sure what they are see enclosed photo
Gregory C. Mayer
Looks like a male A. carolinensis mating with a female A. carolinensis.
AsaBee
Not seen them mating but I know the differences between the two. Lately a new lizard has invaded my yard. It’s definitely not a green nor a brown anole but looks much like a hybrid of the two. So either the two are successfully crossbreeding or a new anole looking lizard has invaded N.E. Florida.
EJ
I just spotted one that looked like a hybrid on the Big Island of Hawaii. Would be happy to share the photo with someone who might be able to confirm my suspicions!
Dizzy's mom
I started with a brown anole in my classroom and bought a green anole twice the size to keep the brown one company. They were fine for months, but lately the green one is attacking the brown one and the brown one appears to be shrinking. The brown one has never really been active and hides a lot. Should I be worried the green one is trying to hurt the brown anole?
Lex
I have a brown anole n green i got a pic of them breeding
Stephen S
Brown doing a green . I have a pic.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/mH3PPFrR1Ho4LHJs7
Jonathan Losos
Sorry, those are two greens. The male is just in the dark color phase. The pointy snout is the tip off that he’s a green anole.
Diane
I have never seen a green with a stripe before. Does that mean they are females if they have a stripe? There are almost no green anoles to be found in my area of South Louisiana. The browns have taken over everywhere it seems.
Joshua Giles
In my plants the green anoles, and the brown Cuban anoles coexist. I often see them together. I’m pretty sure they mate, mate. South Alabama.
Jim Adams
I had thousands of greens until the browns showed up and the greens disappeared. Then for some 8-10 years thousands of the brown. Lately the greens have started showing up again but some look quite not the same. Maybe there’s no scientific proof the two are interbreeding but something is definitely going on.
Diane
That is likely the issue as they aren’t the same as the original greens evidently.
Andrea Lee
I live in Vidor Texas & have never seen any Brown Anoles, but I have seen Brown Anoles in Houston.
Erika
I have two brown females and a green male. The green is a little, beta guy, and one of my brown females is a big alpha bully girl. It’s impressive on his part but he seems to be quite the ladies man because I’ve seen him mate with both of them, but him and the alpha girl have gone at it several times. Now, she’s laid three egss in the past three days. I do not want to deal with hatchlings, but I am interested to see what they would look like if born…
Erika
So it has been about six weeks, and the three eggs have not hatched. Since then the two females have laid several more eggs but I am beginning to think they are not going to hatch because everything I’ve read says 5-7 weeks and some even say 4 weeks.
Erika
So, none of the eggs were viable. They all turned yellow/shrunk. And, considering he mated with two brown females, and they produced like 10 eggs and none of them were viable, I am guessing that the answer is no, they are unable to produce offspring.
Jim Adams
The females will lay eggs regardless maybe the male was shooting blanks
Brandon Saunders
I believe that this may be the combination of both aforementioned species producing a viable offspring? I have one decent picture. I reside in Lake county, Florida. How do I post a picture of this find?
AsaBee
When the brown lizard moved into my yard the green ones completely vanished for about five years. While green ones are back in approximately equal numbers. I would swear on a stack of Bibles that some of these lizards are crosses between the two kinds. Like Dogs, Cats and people mating with other types of their kind, I don’t see why these lizards can’t be doing the same.
p.s. I have seen the two different lizards getting it on also.
Diane
How many sightings of brown and green mating are simply where they haven’t changed color?
AsaBee
Doubtful, I know the physical differences between the two specied
George Gorman
The Anole Annals have frequently reported observations of interspecific matings between carolinensis and sagrei in the U.S.>
For whatever good it would do, I would swear on a stack bibles (warning, I’m an atheist) that a mating between carolinensis and sagrei would NOT produce a viable hybrid; but, God forbid, if I’m wrong, I’d swear on a bigger stack of Bibles that the f-1 would be sterile.
It’s time to do some experiments. Set up a series of cages that have exclusively male sagrei and and female carolinensis ; a second series with male carolinensis and female sagrei and see what happens. To be sure that you have provided appropriate conditions for captive breeding, set up comparable cages populated by both sexes of one species or other other… this to demonstrate that your set-up works as a breeding ground.
I’m curious whether any of our Cuban colleagues have ever observed sagrei mating with porcatus (which is probably conspecific with carolinensis ..but we won’t go there now). Or, in fact, ANY examples of interspecific mating. My intuition tells me (for whatever good my intuition may be) that under normal distributional situations, anole populations living in sympatry with multiple Anolis species would be selected become pretty good at species recognition and thus unlikely to mate with the “wrong” species… Thus the cases of inter-specific mating are likely to involve relatively recent invasive species.
Finally…a request for information. Other than our own studies from about 60 years ago related to hybridization between trinitatis and aeneus on Trinidad (both probably recently introduced), are there any documented observations/reports on Anolis interspecific hybridization (I.E. PRODUCING A HYBRID…NOT SIMPLY MATING WITH The WRONG SPECIES)? Thanks