Author: Chelsea Connor Page 2 of 5

Herper and PhD student from the Commonwealth of Dominica. Researching dietary niche overlap of the native and invasive species of anole on my island, and something new for my PhD.
...And also like every other anole. Every week. #DidYouAnole?

#DidYouAnole – Anolis sabanus

By Chelsea Connor

On July 8, 2021

In All Posts

Photo: Delano Lewis, iNaturalist

This week’s anole, Anolis sabanus, can only be spotted on the island of Saba (Dutch W.I.).

Also called the Saban anole, this tan to pale grey coloured species is sexually dimorphic with males being covered with black spots/patches at an SVL of 29-72mm and females having a dorsal stripe and an SVL of 23-25mm. Their dewlaps are green or orange tinted.

Photo: Mark Yokoyama

In 2016, there was an introduction of the anole on the neighbouring island of Sint Eustatius. They belong to the bimaculatus series of anoles which includes other island endemics like Anolis oculatus (from my home island of Dominica).

Gina Zwicky, New Orleans based herper, is currently working on a study to see if there is a link between parasite pressure and the rise of immunity in generations of this anole, examining if evidence can be found of fluctuating selection in a natural population. Anoles are incredibly useful for research with their genomes being readily available for reference, how quickly they adapt and other factors. Island endemics especially are great research subjects due to their isolation which helps to eliminate certain other variables.

Photo: iNaturalist

#DidYouAnole – Anolis aeneus

By Chelsea Connor

On July 1, 2021

In All Posts

Photo: Mikel2500, iNaturalist

Happy Thursday!

Today’s anole is the Bronze anole, Anolis aeneus! The Bronze anole can be found on most of the Grenadines (the small islands between St. Vincent and Grenada) and Grenada itself, and has been introduced to Trinidad & Tobago and Guyana.

Bronze anoles can be found in forests and some urban environments, and is one of many anole species that also feed on plant matter (Simmons et al., 2005), like nectar and seeds. Males have an SVL of 77mm while females are 55mm.

Photo: Mark Hulme, iNaturalist

Though called the Bronze anole, not all individuals are brown/bronze; some may be greyish brown or olive and their mottled pattern may be light or dark. The dewlap of the Bronze anole is pale white or green and spots of orange or yellow may be near the front edge. They spend a lot of time in a ‘survey posture’ sitting on tree trunks surveying the habitat for prey items that may come along.

Hybridisation between A. aeneus and A. trinitatis (St. Vincent bush anole) has been found to occur, with the possibility of fertile offspring (Losos, 2009).

Photo: Mike G Rutherford, iNaturalist

#DidYouAnole – Anolis cybotes

By Chelsea Connor

On June 24, 2021

In All Posts

Photo: GotCritters, iNaturalist

Hello!

Thanks for sticking around while I did Black Birders Week planning, events and follow ups. I hope you were able to take part and check out the week. If not, we’ve archived the recordings and they all live somewhere on the internet which we’ve conveniently collected for you over on our website BlackAFinSTEM.com.

Now, for the anoles.

It’s funny how I accidentally did an anole this one is commonly mistaken for twice, but haven’t actually talked about it yet. But, Anolis cybotes is this week’s anole.

Commonly known as the large-headed/largehead anole because the males have really big heads (creative, I know), or the Hispaniolan stout anole, these lizards are native to Hispaniola and small neighbouring islands, but have been introduced to Suriname and everyone’s favourite state, Florida. Largehead anole males can have an SVL of ~65-70mm and females, ~52-60mm. Like many other stout brown patterned anoles, they’re also of the trunk-ground ecomorph and are territorial as adults.

Photo: Christian Nunes, iNaturalist

Male largehead anoles have a dirty white dewlap with no patterning, an easy way to tell them apart from the similarly coloured A. sagrei (red-orange dewlap), and A. cristatellus (yellow and orange dewlap). If you are able to take a closer look at its head in comparison with others, you should also be able to notice the blocky shape and size it got its name for.

Photo: GotCritters, iNaturalist

Anolis cybotes haa been studied with another similar sympatric anole, A. marcanoi, to see if anoles can recognise each other and other species by dewlap, which you can read here.

PS: It’s Pride Month and I am one of 23 scientists featured in the New Science Exhibit at Cal Academy; it’s also virtual so you can check it out here.

#DidYouAnole – Anolis vermiculatus

By Chelsea Connor

On May 20, 2021

In All Posts

All anoles are amazing and unique, but some just go above and beyond others.

Anolis vermiculatus (previously seen here), the Cuban aquatic or stream anole, is a semi-aquatic anole endemic to Cuba and one of two anoles that completely lacks a dewlap (the other being Anolis bartschi).

The males can have an SVL of up to 123mm making them a large anole, and the females are smaller at 83mm. They live near streams in dense vegetation and eat (in addition to insects) plant matter, small fish, frogs, crayfish and freshwater shrimp. Like another anole, Anolis pulchellus, the Cuban aquatic anole is able to run across the surface of water to escape predators, aided by the hydrophobic skin that anoles have. Cuban stream anoles are incredibly skittish so in addition to running across the water, they may just jump into it when disturbed or threatened, staying submerged for long periods of time.

Photos: Shea Lambert

#DidYouAnole – Anolis transversalis

By Chelsea Connor

On May 6, 2021

In All Posts

Photo: dhfischer, iNaturalist

We talked about a lot of Ecuadorean anoles last year and this week we’re revisiting South America.

Transverse anoles, Anolis transversalis, are arboreal lizards that can be found in the Eastern Amazon in Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Brazil, Bolivia and Southern Venezuela.

These anoles are dramatically sexually dimorphic, so much so that the males were initially described as another species, A. buckleyi (O’Shaughnessy, 1880). The females have a larger banding pattern, sometimes with spots in between and are also different in colouring. The females of this species have dewlaps that are different from the males as well, being smaller and with large vertical banding. Male Transverse anoles have smaller, faint banding overlaid with spots and a larger bright yellow-green dewlap with a pattern of spots (sometimes) and small faint lateral stripes.

Photo: Fernando Ayala-Varela, iNaturalist

Transversalis anole
Photo: Santiago R Ron, BioWeb

Their differences have been noted in previous post on here as well, the differences in their dewlaps.

The average SVL of male Transverse anoles is 88mm, and females is 86mm. They actively defend their territory from other anoles.

#DidYouAnole – Anolis chlorocyanus

By Chelsea Connor

On April 30, 2021

In All Posts

Photo: Pedro Genaro Rodriguez, iNaturalist

This week we are going back up the tree to a trunk-crown anole, Anolis chlorocyanus.

The Hispaniolan green anole is endemic to the island of Hispaniola and has been introduced to Florida. The males are bright green, sometimes being mistaken for the American green anole, but dewlaps that have black. Females and juveniles are the same shade of green, but often have darker green lateral stripes.

Photo: sricher, iNaturalist

Hispaniolan green anoles inhabit orchards and gardens, in addition to forests. They are one of the few species of anoles that have been reported to vocalise (as noted in this past post and another found here). Like many other anoles, they are capable of rapid colour change to brown, depending on temperature, mood or other factors.

This anole is also part of an eponymous series with several closely related anoles, and there has been some talk of renaming them as new research is done about their genetics.

Photo: Yolanda M. Leon, iNaturalist

#DidYouAnole – Anolis alutaceus

By Chelsea Connor

On April 15, 2021

In All Posts

Anolis alutaceus [image] | EurekAlert! Science News

Photo: Luke Mahler

Hey there!

I’m really into these tiny anoles now, and I promise we will venture next week, but for right now. I would like to talk about Anolis alutaceus.

Anolis alutaceus, also known as the Blue-eyed grass-bush anole or Monte Verde anole, is a forest-dwelling Cuban anole that can also be found on Isla de Juventud. It is one of the anoles in the alutaceus series of 14 closely related Cuban grass-bush anoles.

Photo by Yasel Alfonso, iNaturalist

They have a sizable pale yellow dewlap, and tan brown bodies with a lateral striping running from shoulder to vent, as well as diamond patterning on their backs. Monte Verde anoles have a SVL of around 37.5mm. They can be found close to the ground on the skinny surfaces their body plans are suited for, and like many of the other anoles in their ecomorph, they move mostly by jumping.

Photo by Alex Alfil, iNaturalist

#DidYouAnole – Anolis pulchellus

By Chelsea Connor

On April 8, 2021

In All Posts

Photo: Steve Silvestrini, iNaturalist

Hello again!

I thought we’d continue with very small anoles and so I picked another grass-bush anole! Anolis pulchellus, also known as the Puerto Rican bush anole or the Sharp-mouthed lizard (locally).

This anole is from Puerto Rico, but is also found on the islands of Culebra, Vieques, and a majority of the Virgin Islands. The Sharp-mouthed lizard is one of the most common lizards in Puerto Rico. They have an average SVL of 35-43 mm and are yellow-brown in colour with a lateral tan stripe from its mouth to the base of its tail. The dewlaps of the males are purple at the neck, fading into crimson.

Photo: Alex Gunderson, Twitter

It has been reported to show aquatic tendencies, jumping into nearby water when approached and swimming to safety. They are also able to sit on the surface of the water without penetrating it, and when submerged, they have a silvery appearance due to a thin layer of air surrounding its body, much like Anolis aquaticus.

In another unexpected move from this tiny anole, it has also been found engaging in carnivory. Carnivory tends to be common in anoles, but usually in the ones larger than the grass-bush ecomorph, think Crested Anoles, and they eat lizards smaller themselves. Here you can find a report of a Sharp-mouth lizard consuming a Big-scaled Dwarf gecko.

Photo: Kevin de Queiroz, Jonathan Losos

Evidence also suggests that Sharp-mouthed anoles may be hybridising with another, very similar grass anole found in Puerto Rico, Anolis krugi. Check out the post (and paper) on this here.

#DidYouAnole – Anolis olssoni

By Chelsea Connor

On April 1, 2021

In All Posts

Photo: Pedro Genaro Rodriguez, iNaturalist

Hi! It’s been brought to my attention that I haven’t done a small anole in a while. Today’s anole is a grass-bush anole, Anolis olssoni, also known as the Desert Grass or Monte Cristi anole.

This anole is native to Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic). There are eightsubspecies of the Desert Grass anole found in different locations on the island.

Photo: Pedro Genaro Rodriguez, iNaturalist

Like other grass-bush anoles, Anolis olssoni has a slender body and a very long tail, as well as brown colouring and lateral striping. Grass-bush anoles tend to move by hopping and have long hindlimbs. For this ecomorph, the SVL ranges from 33-51 mm, with the Desert Grass anole somewhere around 39-50 mm, depending on the subspecies.

Subspecies vary from each other by colour, either being darker or paler, as well as by scale pattern. Lighter-coloured Desert Grass anole subspecies are found in xeric areas, while darker-coloured subspecies are found in more mesic areas. The dewlap of this species is a rusty orange with yellow scales.

Photo: Francis Reyes, iNaturalist

#DidYouAnole – Ranking This Year’s Anoles (so far)

By Chelsea Connor

On March 18, 2021

In All Posts

Hello!!

It’s me again, but I don’t have an anole this week. This week I actually am going to share some of my personal anole rankings with you. I’m only going to use the anoles I’ve talked about so far for the year and I will give you very good reasons why.

Tell me what yours would be, I’d love to know. I read all your comments.

#7 – Anolis landestoyi, Hispanolian Chameleon anole

Photo: Miguel Landestoy

I love false chameleons and I can’t wait for us to know more about this closely related anole. It has amazing camouflage (lichen is always a good choice).

#6 – Anolis cuvieri, Puerto Rican Giant anole

Photo from Anolis cuvieri on the prowl”

Juveniles are brown and shift to green when they mature!

#5 – Anolis garmani, Jamaican Giant anole

Photo: Tom McLellan

Crown-giants are one of my favourite anole ecomorphs. I haven’t gotten the chance to see one in person, but growing up on an island with iguanas, large green lizards have a special place in my heart. The Jamaican Giant anole also shares its territory with other males for some time.

#4 – Anolis agassizi, Mapelo Island anole

Blue feet, permanently erect crest (on large males), and beautiful spotted patterning make this anole visually striking. Also of note is its weird interest in the colour orange. Why? Who knows, but I will gladly research this quirk if anyone wants to fund that.

#3 – Anolis lucius, Slender Cliff anole

Photo: Shea Lambert

Built-in sunglasses will take you pretty far in life, especially if you’re a cave dwelling lizard (possibly).

#2 – Anolis equestris, Cuban Knight Anole

Photo: Karl Guyton II

The largest known anole species! I appreciate this crown-giant, especially the A. e. poitor subspecies also known as the ‘Blue Beauty’.

#1 – Anolis bartschi, Western Cliff anole

More blue feet!
This clever little cliff dwelling anole has a lot of odd or uncommon behaviours that I would love to observe, including communal nesting in rock crevices. Read about the rest of them in the post! They’re definitely a dream study species as well.