Etymologies of All Anoles

Collecting reptile names is one thing, but it’s a different thing to figure out what these names actually mean. At the Reptile Database we have collected the etymologies of more than 11,000 reptile species, but there are still a lot of gaps for subspecies and synonyms. I wonder if anyone in the Anole community is interested in that subject.

More specifically, there are 434 species of anoles with a total of 109 subspecies (excluding nominate subspecies), that is, a total of 543 names. Of those, we do have the etymologies of over 500 taxa, but there are at least 32 missing (all Caribbean subspecies). Here is the list:

• Anolis allogus BARBOUR & RAMSDEN 1919
• Anolis confusus ESTRADA & GARRIDO 1991
• Anolis homolechis (COPE 1864)
• Anolis loysiana (COCTEAU 1836)
• Anolis lucius DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1837

In addition, we need the etymology of the following subspecies:

The technology-minded among you may say, sure, that’s easy, just ask ChatGPT what these names mean. Here is what ChatGPT says about the first 3 of them:

• Anolis equestris potior:
  • potior: Latin for “better,” “superior,” or “more important.” This could suggest that this subspecies is seen as a more distinctive or notable form compared to others.
• Anolis strahmi abditus:
  • abditus: Latin for “hidden” or “concealed.” This might indicate a subspecies that is difficult to find, perhaps due to a cryptic lifestyle or remote habitat.
• Anolis lineatopus ahenobarbus:
  • ahenobarbus: Latin for “bronze-bearded” (ahenus meaning “bronze” and barba meaning “beard”). This likely refers to a feature such as a bronze or reddish coloration on the chin or throat.

You can see that ChatGPT has a pretty good grasp of Latin, and it can make good educated guesses, but it is often not quite sure about the finer details behind species names.

When it comes to eponyms, it’s much worse. Here is an example for some of the eponyms of Pholidoscelis auberi (apologies, not an anole, but a Caribbean Teiid with currently 39 subspecies, of which at least 10 are eponyms, so it’s a good example). Let’s take a look at these 10, namely

• Pholidoscelis auberi auberi (COCTEAU 1838)
• Pholidoscelis auberi garridoi (SCHWARTZ 1970)
• Pholidoscelis auberi granti (SCHWARTZ 1970)
• Pholidoscelis auberi hardyi (SCHWARTZ 1970)
• Pholidoscelis auberi kingi (MCCOY 1970)
• Pholidoscelis auberi orlandoi (SCHWARTZ & MCCOY 1975)
• Pholidoscelis auberi paulsoni (SCHWARTZ in SCHWARTZ & MCCOY 1970)
• Pholidoscelis auberi richmondi (MCCOY in SCHWARTZ & MCCOY 1970)
• Pholidoscelis auberi schwartzi (GALI & GARRIDO 1987)
• Pholidoscelis auberi zugi (SCHWARTZ in SCHWARTZ & MCCOY 1970)

Here is what ChatGPT says:

1. auberi: Named after Paul Aubert, a naturalist or explorer, as many species are named in honor of individuals. It was first described by Jean Theodore Cocteau in 1838, hence the name Pholidoscelis auberi auberi.
2. garridoi: Likely named after a person with the surname Garrido, honoring their contribution to science.
3. orlandoi: Likely named after an individual named Orlando, possibly in honor of a person or place associated with the subspecies’ discovery or description.

I save you the remaining ones, because you get the gist: ChatGPT has no idea who these people are, including the namesake of P. a. auberi, which  was not named after Paul Aubert, as ChatGPT claims, but rather after Pedro Alejandro Auber (1786-1843), a Cuban botanist and naturalist of French origin (née Pierre Alexandre Auber). The only eponym ChatGPT got right was Pholidoscelis auberi schwartzi, named after Albert Schwartz (1923-1992), the doyen of Caribbean herpetology — one out of ten. Ouch!

So, if you are interested in etymology, of Anolis or otherwise, please let me know. As said, we have about 100o reptile names in need of clarification.

Thanks 🙂

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Peter Uetz

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