Anolis porcatus was recently introduced into Brazil. Now a paper in Herpetology Notes reports predation on that species by an introduced spider.
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.
Latest posts by Jonathan Losos (see all)
- Diet Notes on Beautiful Blue Knight Anole - September 4, 2024
- Anoles Provide Ecosystem Services - September 2, 2024
- Mississippi Kite Eats Green Anole - August 6, 2024
Rick Wallach
That photo is straight out of “Eight Legged Freaks,” and articles about spiders always remind me of various passages from Annie Dillard in “Pilgrim at Tinker Creek” and David Quammen’s wonderful article “A Spider’s Face” in his first essay collection, “The Flight of the Iguana.” Anway, Jonathan, I would suppose there are plenty of other spider species that prey on anoles, not to mention anything else small enough to catch and kill. The frisson here is that both species are introduced. I wish porcatus best of luck in solving these arachnid threats and expanding to the top of the food chain by the time we finally get our Pfizer vaccines down here.