Photo by Karl Guyton II
Hi!
Welcome back. I lost a family member and took a break, but I’m back now and thank you for coming back.
I picked the Cuban Knight Anole for today because there’s just so much anole to love.
Anolis equestris are crown-giant anoles and the largest known species of anole with an SVL of 10-20 cm in males and 9-17 cm in females. Their tails can be about twice their body length. They are territorial and will gape and display at perceived threats, while raising its body.
Cuban Knight anoles are native to Cuba, but have since been introduced to places like Turks and Caicos, Florida, Hawaii and the Canary Islands.
Photo by Ultra Violet
These large anoles eat pretty much whatever they want to, including the usual anole fare like insects, nectar, other smaller lizards, and fruit and plant matter. They are actually able to pass on viable seeds! Cuban Knights have also been seen eating other animals that are smaller than themselves, like birds, scorpions, and frogs.
Photo by Paul Richards
Both males and females have dewlaps, which for this species have no pattern and are pale pink. There are 11 subspecies of the Cuban Knight anole, including A. equestris poitor, also called the Blue Beauty for its blue colouring that becomes more prominent and overt in its dark phase. These are only found in Cayo Santa María, an island off Cuba’s north central coast.
Photo by Jesús Reina Carvajal
Thanks for reading!
Here’s a video of a female digging a possible nesting site for your time.
...And also like every other anole. Every week. #DidYouAnole?
- #DidYouAnole – Anolis allogus - December 24, 2021
- #DidYouAnole – Anolis gundlachi - November 12, 2021
- #DidYouAnole – Anolis phyllorhinus - November 5, 2021
Rick Wallach
Our thickly wooded yard hosts a decent number of knight anoles and they’re always a pleasure to spot. They feed on our Cuban treefrogs (Osteopilus septentrionalis) and you can tell when an anole has seized one by the frogs’ loud, piteous shrieking as they’re being consumed. It’s unnerving. You can’t always see where in the trees the lizard has scored but nothing else sounds like it. It sometimes reminds me of the closing scene of the original version of the classic horror movie “The Fly” when the fly with the human head is caught in a spiderweb and crying “help me! Help me!” B-r-r-r-r. Nature, red in fang and claw indeed.
delton howard
It’s an “invasive eat invasive” world here in Florida!
Rick Wallach
Innit just? Pythons eating nutria is another one. Tegus eating….um…everything. Nile or Salvador monitors eating graywing parrot nestlings. I suppose caimans eating red eared sliders would work too. Maybe we’re just watching “punctuated equilibrium” in action.
At least we don’t have to deal with Pablo Escobar’s hippos.