Photographs by Odey Martínez Llanes
Photograph by Odey Martínez Llanes
Author: Jonathan Losos Page 1 of 129
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.
Photo by Julie Katz
Hard to imagine a more important service than this! Miami resident Julie Katz provides the details: “When I walked out of my condo building one night this past spring to walk my dog I encountered a first – a small lizard feasting on a roach.”
Go anoles!
Photo by Christa Denning (aka, @DenningDesign)
From Twitter
Researchers have thought of putting anoles in experimental wind tunnels. Perhaps this is the next best evidence? Or maybe this was a setup? Either way, we can see the classic anole response to falling.
h/t Mike Whitlock
from the pages of Forbes:
An Anole (Anolis) lizard from Colombia, with an orange dewlap. Photo: CAMILO ANDRÉS ESTUPIÑAN
How Do You Tell Colombia’s Bright, Zany Anole Lizards Apart?
A group of passionate lizard scientists have published a guide to the dozens of species of Anolis: small, brightly-coloured tree lizards related to iguanas. Colombia holds more than 75 species of Anolis which are and males have large throat fans called dewlaps, to attract females.
Camilo Andrés Estupiñan, a biologist at Icesi University in Colombia and a researcher at the Interandinos Foundation, is currently leading a project to create an illustrated guide of Anolis in Colombia. “Colombia has the greatest diversity of Anolis species in the world, and this book seeks to capture and share that richness,” he says, adding that this is a collaborative effort that came out of the Interandinos Foundation.
“The information available on these species is quite scattered, which represents a great challenge for us, but we have received incredible support from the scientific community, who have contributed significantly,” he says, “Maria, the illustrator of this book, has done an exceptional job, exceeding our expectations with illustrations that accurately capture the unique characteristics of each species.”
Estupiñan explains that this project is crucial not only for biodiversity conservation, but also for fostering knowledge and appreciation of our rich biodiversity, empowering local communities.
“We hope that this book will not be the last of its kind, but will open the doors for future scientific dissemination projects on reptiles in Colombia, contributing to a deeper knowledge and greater conservation of these species,” he says.
Estupiñan explains that in Colombia, local communities such as farmers and indigenous people are “true guardians of the forests” and have direct and constant contact with natural resources.
“They see biodiversity not only as a resource to be conserved, but as part of their identity and can provide valuable data that enriches science,” he says, “In this context, projects such as the Anolis illustrated guide are fundamental, as they not only promote the knowledge and conservation of biodiversity, but also empower these communities.”
Excerpt from the guide to Colombian anoles. FUNDACIÓN INTERANDINOS
Passion For Colombia’s Lizards
Estupiñan was born and raised in Cali, Colombia and says as a child he has always had a deep passion for reptiles. “This passion led me to study biology at Icesi University, where I was fortunate to meet Jhan Carlos Salazar, who was finishing his thesis on the physiology of Anolis lizards,” he says, “He took me to do field work and introduced me to these fascinating lizards, which further ignited my passion for them.”
Estupiñan would go to to start a master’s degree in engineering and teaching undergraduate conservation biology.
“With a clear vision of contributing significantly to research, environmental education and scientific dissemination in Colombia, I founded together with some colleagues and friends the Interandinos Foundation,” he says, “Since its creation, the foundation has allowed me to channel my passion for nature and science into concrete actions that have a real impact on our community and beyond.”
Estupiñan explains that scientists from the Global South bring a deep understanding of their own ecological, social and economic contexts, which is essential for developing sustainable and effective solutions to problems that affect both locally and globally.
“This proximity not only allows for greater precision in identifying problems, but also facilitates the implementation of solutions that are culturally and environmentally appropriate,” he says, “Ultimately, integrating these voices and perspectives into global science is not only right, but also essential to effectively address the environmental, social and developmental challenges we face today.”
Camilo Estupiñan and an anole lizard. Photo: Jhan Carlos Salazar
More Passion for Anoles
Biologist Jhan Salazar, who is also a collaborator on the illustrated guide, graduated from the Biology Program in 2018 from Icesi University, in Cali, in the south of Colombia and is now pursuing his PhD in Evolution, Ecology and Population Biology at the Washington University in St. Louis.
“My research is focused on Anolis lizards now, but I want to study other lizard genres, snakes, and frogs in the future,” he says, adding that his passion for studying reptiles started back when he was growing up in the country-side of Cauca, Colombia.
“We grew up surrounded by nature and when I was 11, I went out with my family we went on a trip and that really influenced me,” he says, “Its a rural zone and a forested zone.”
In 2019, he was also announced as the winner of the Young Afro-Colombian 2019.
Anolis cybotes from Florida. Photo by Janson Jones. https://floridensis.com/tag/anolis-cybotes/
Subrata Das writes:
The area of my interest is the commercialization of invasive species for leather, meat, hair, fur, bristles and by-products.
Of late I am researching invasive anoles, agamas and basilisks and the various ways they have been or are being commercialized in trade and commerce.
I will be deeply grateful for all information you can share with me on the commercial exploitation of anoles, agamas and basilisks in both their native and invasive ranges.
Biologist Damion Whyte reports from Jamaica: On April 11, 2024, at 10:50 am, Mrs. Lisa Bowman Lee was at her garage in Kingston, the capital of Jamaica. She saw a Greater Antillean Grackle (Quiscalus niger) and a Jamaican Twig Anole (Anolis valencienni). She had never seen that lizard before, and she had seen a bird trying to eat it. She contacted Damion Whyte, who has done much work with wildlife in Jamaica. He advised her to put the lizard in a nearby tree. She was amazed by its colourful dewlap. This is the first time we have seen an Anolis valencienni fight for its life like that.
MCZ 36138, the holotype of Anolis roosevelti. Laszlo Meszoly, del. From Mayer and Gamble 2019.
We’ve had a number of posts in the past about the enigmatic A. roosevelti, last seen alive in more than 90 years ago. Here’s an interesting summary of the species and how its specter haunts current land use on Culebra and elsewhere in the species’ geographic range.
