Author: Jonathan Losos Page 10 of 130

They do! Rodríguez-Cabrera and colleagues report in the latest issue of Euscorpius: Occasional Papers in Scorpiology on predation on scorpions in Cuba. In addition to the A. homolechis and A. sagrei shown above (left and right, respectively), A. equestris was also observed eating a scorpion.

Good ol' Harry the Lizard.#DeathInParadise pic.twitter.com/RHCKN2okOY

— Death in Paradise (@deathinparadise) January 16, 2020

I could have sworn we had a post on this some years ago, but can find no record of it in the Annals. So, just to get up to speed, Death in Paradise is a British detective show set on the island of Guadeloupe (Update, April 2021: the island is Saint Marie, a fictitious island in the vicinity of Guadeloupe and Martinique). A recurring character is Harry, who looks more-or-less like an anole. The show is set in Guadeloupe, hence the reasonable supposition that he is an A. marmoratus, as some articles explicitly state.

Speaking of articles, this post is prompted by a number of recent press articles highlighting Harry, including this piece in The Sun and another in the Daily Express. And one more from earlier this year. You may not be surprised to learn that Harry is not played by a real saurian actor, but rather is the result of CGI. The Sun‘s piece provides more detail, including the embedded video.

More favorite details on our favorite TV character can be found on his Wiki Fandom page.

Stan Rand’s Super 8 Film from the 1972 Malpelo Expedition

Kevin de Queiroz

Research Zoologist and Curator of Amphibians and Reptiles

National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

This film was made by Austin Stanley Rand (1932–2005), a biologist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) (1964–1997), during a six-day expedition to Malpelo Island, a small (1.2 km²), remote, oceanic island located some 500 km west of the Colombian mainland, in late February and early March of 1972.  The Expedition involved 17 scientists from STRI, the republics of Colombia and Panamá, and several US universities, as well as the assistance of the United States Navy.  The scientific findings of the Expedition were published in the series Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology (Number 176) in 1975, in a volume edited by Jeffrey B. Graham (1941–2011), one of the STRI biologists who participated in the Expedition.  The volume contains 14 articles, five of which are on the lizards of Malpelo, including three on the endemic Anolis agassizi, two on the endemic Diploglossus millepunctatus (one of which is also on A. agassizi), and one describing a new endemic species of leaf-toed geckos, Phyllodactylus transversalis.  As a result of prompting from George Gorman, who participated in the Expedition, and Jonathan Losos, I obtained a digital copy of the film from the Smithsonian Archives with the help of Archivist Ellen Alers.  The film is a little under 11 minutes long and there is no audio.  The notes about the contents of the film below were prepared mostly from information in the Malpelo Expedition Volume, with some additions based on web searches and input from George Gorman.  Literature citations are for articles in the Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology Malpelo Expedition Volume unless otherwise indicated.  Thanks to George Gorman and Ross Kiester for comments on an earlier version.

 

0:10:  Adult male Anolis agassizi, Malpelo or Agassiz’s Anole.  The species was named by Smithsonian Zoologist Leonard Stejneger in 1900 after Alexander Agassiz, leader of an 1891 Expedition aboard the USS Albatross that visited Malpelo and collected the first specimens.

0:20:  Map showing the location of Malpelo Island (ca. 500 km west of mainland Colombia).

0:29:  The USS York County (US Navy).  This De Soto County-class Tank Landing Ship transported the Expedition participants from Panama to Malpelo and back.

0:32:  Ship deck (the ship was decommissioned later that same year, 1972).

0:40:  Crew members of the USS York (sweeping the deck).

0:46:  A. Ross Kiester (Ph.D. 1975, Harvard University, Advisor: Ernest E. Williams; STRI Predoctoral Fellow, 1970–1971).  Kiester authored a paper in the Malpelo Expedition Volume on the natural history of the endemic anguid lizard species Diploglossus millepunctatus.

0:53:  George C. Gorman (Ph.D. 1968, Harvard University, Advisor: E. E. Williams; UCLA professor at the time of the Expedition) lying on deck.  Gorman co-authored three articles in the Malpelo Expedition Volume, including one on the natural history, behavior and ecology of Anolis agassizi and another on the chromosomes of Anolis agassizi and Diploglossus millepunctatus.

1:00:  Several Anolis agassizi licking a cut orange.  The anoles are very abundant on the island.  In the Malpelo Expedition Volume, Rand et al. (1975) estimated the population density to be 1 anole/5-10 square meters and a total population of at least 100,000 anoles on the small island.

1:11:  Malpelo Island from the southeast (?).

1:20:  Part of island closer up.  The sides are very steep and landing is difficult.

1:27:  Close-up of rock (island surface).  The island is composed primarily of igneous rock and is of volcanic origin.  Very few large (vascular) plants occur there, though several species of mosses and lichens are present.

1:33:  Aerial view of island (from the northwest).  The Expedition produced a new map of the island (see Kiester and Hoffman, 1975).

1:39:  Map showing the topography of the ocean floor.  Malpelo is part of Malpelo Ridge and is the only island on that ridge.

1:45:  Nazca Booby (Sula granti).  This is most abundant breeding bird species on Malpelo (Pitman et al., 1995, The marine birds of Malpelo Island, Colombia. Colonial Waterbirds 18:113–119, wherein it is called Sula dactylatra).  The population was estimated by Pitman et al. (1995) to be 24,000 individuals.  Referred to in the Malpelo Expedition Volume as Masked or Blue-faced Boobies, Sula dactylatra granti.

1:50:  Seabirds flying.  Other bird species known from Malpelo include Red-billed Tropicbirds, Red-footed Boobies, Black and Brown Noddies, White Terns, and Great and Magnificent Frigatebirds (Pitman et al., 1995).

2:00:  Diploglossus millepunctatus, a Dotted or Malpelo Galliwasp.  This is an anguid lizard species endemic to Malpelo.

2:02:   Preserved specimens of Phyllodactylus transversalis, Malpelo Leaf-toed Geckos.  This was a new species discovered on the Malpelo Expedition and described in the Malpelo Expedition Volume by Raymond B. Huey (Ph.D. 1976; Harvard University, Advisor: Ernest E. Williams).

2:06:  This shot seems to show the abundance of anoles in a small area.  Anolis agassizi was found not to be territorial, unlike most of its close relatives, and to exhibit relatively little intraspecific aggression.

2:21:  Anole on a camera illustrating tameness and/or curiosity.  Rand et al. reported that they often approached observers and unusual objects.

2:24:  Clipboard with a map of Malpelo showing the routes taken by the exploration party (compare with Figure 4 in Kiester and Hoffman, 1975).

2:26:  Anoles in a scuffle (chase and display).

2:32:  Anoles on equipment (again showing abundance and curiosity).

2:37:  Anoles at orange, licking, numerous individuals.  Oranges were put out after the researchers noticed that the anoles seemed attracted to the color orange (Kodak film package, cap of suntan lotion container).  The anoles normally eat insects, primarily ants and beetles (Rand et al., 1975).

3:03:  Anoles running around with a (red) Chuckles candy.  This was part of the “Chuckles experiment” to assess whether the anoles preferred particular colors (more on this below).

3:21:  Large marked male anole performing a headbob display.  Marking was used to estimate home ranges.

3:30:  More headbobs (different individual?).  This is a typical anole display.  The Malpelo anoles performed it infrequently compared to other anole species.

3:37:  Large marked male A. agassizi performing more head bobs and dewlap extension.  Malpelo anoles have relatively small dewlaps.

3:50:  Attacks another male.

3:53:  Nuchal crest and dewlap extended.  This species has a relatively small dewlap, likely related to its lack of territoriality and reduced aggression.

4:04:  Two males displaying and biting.  The closer one appears to be tethered.

4:15:  Males with jaws locked.  Despite these cases, at least some of which appear to involve instigation by the researchers, aggression was found to be low in this species (Rand et al., 1975).

4:21:  Male anole.  Rosario Castañeda (2010, Ph. D. dissertation, George Washington University) found A. agassizi to be ecomorphologically divergent from other Dactyloa-clade species in having an exceptionally large number of toepad lamellae.

4:31:  Anoles (some of which are marked) at orange.  Note that the anoles do not attempt to monopolize this resource by displaying at each other or chasing each other away (Rand et al., 1975).  The larger ones with the black heads are males.

4:47:  Series of preserved Anolis agassizi specimens.  No hatchlings were found during the Expedition, suggesting seasonal reproduction (Rand et al., 1975).

4:57:  Dissected Anolis specimen showing testes.  Probably one of the large males with a black head and nuchal crest.

5:02:  Dissected Anolis specimen showing an egg.  A little over 50% of the sampled females had oviducal eggs or enlarging follicles (Rand et al., 1975).

5:06:  Testes again.  Rand et al. (1975) found that some large males lack male secondary sexual characters (black head and erect nuchal crest) and have regressed testes (obviously, this isn’t one of them).

5:11:  Back at the orange.  The anoles both lick and bite the orange.

5:28:  Dissected gut cavity.  Possibly showing fat bodies or perhaps this is the male morph with regressed testes or perhaps showing the darkly pigmented peritoneum, a characteristic of lizards that live in areas of high insolation (Rand et al., 1975).

5:35:  Back at the orange again.

5:51:  Part of island with ocean in background (and birds). The shot pans to a small boat that was presumably used to transport the researchers to the island from the large ship.

6:02:  Endemic Malpelo land crab, Johngarthia malpilensis.  (Referred to in the Malpelo Expedition Volume as Gecarcinus malpilensis.)

6:08:  Crab interaction with Diploglossus.  D. millepunctutus is one of the largest anguids and one of the largest Diploglossus species.  It is known to feed on dead crabs (Kiester, 1975).

6:24:  Anolis agassizi male (marked).

6:30:  A researcher tying a hookless fishing fly on fishing line.  Ross Kiester thinks that the researcher may be William M. Rand, brother of A. Stanley Rand and co-author of the article on Anolis agassizi in the Malpelo Expedition Volume (Rand et al., 1975).

6:33:  Anoles trying to capture the fly.  Malpelo anoles are known to eat real flies (Diptera).

6:45:  Anoles with green chuckles candy.  The “Chuckles Experiment” was undertaken to test for a color preference (Rand et al., 1975).  The results indicated a preference for orange and yellow Chuckles candies over red and green ones and even more so over black ones.  Rand et al. speculated that this preference could be related to feeding on the yolks of broken seabird eggs.

6:52:  Setting out red Chuckles candy.

6:54:  Anoles on rock (more Chuckles).

6:59:  Anole with red and orange Chuckles candies.

7:15:  This sequence shows anoles drinking from a crevice, as reported in the Malpelo Expedition Volume by Rand et al. (1975).  There are many small seeps, springs and rock pools on the island (Rand et al., 1975).  Other experiments have shown that Malpelo anoles are not particularly tolerant of water loss (Rand et al., 1975).

7:43:  More drinking.  

7:57:  Taking body temperature via the cloaca (a standard herpetological method).  Rand et al. (1975) found that A. agassizi exhibits similar body-temperature preferences to other anoles.

8:05:  Part of island (from boat?).

8:10:  Anole runs and stops in the shade.  Anoles were active during most of the day in the shade and didn’t spend much time basking (Rand et al., 1975).

8:24:  Back at the half orange.

8:38:  Anoles flee and a Diploglossus approaches.  The Galliwasp is known to prey on anoles, but anoles are not its primary food source (Rand et al., 1975).  On the other hand, Rand et al. reported that 85% of the Malpelo Anoles had regenerated tails.

8:49:  Anoles.

8:52:  Diploglossus departs.  This is probably the individual mentioned by Rand et al. (1975) that repeatedly approached the orange when anoles were present, but did not eat the orange.

8:57:  Large male anole moving up rock.

9:05:  Diploglossus millepunctatus.

9:09:  Anole running.

9:12:  Diploglossus running.  I assume that the anole is running from the galliwasp rather than the other way around.

9:17:  Land crab (Johngarthia malpilensis).

9:20:  Land crab and Diploglossus.  Malpelo Galliwasps are known to feed on dead crabs (Kiester, 1975).

9:26:  Nazca Boobies (Sula granti), adult and chick.

9:28:  Diploglossus millepunctatus.  Kiester (1975) reported that when a booby chick squawks upon return of the parent to the nest, nearby galliwasps immediately run to the vicinity of the birds and will snatch and eat any fishes that are dropped.

9:33:  Nazca Boobies (adult and chick) again.

9:36:  Diploglossus eating a crab claw.

9:40:  Two Diploglossus eating a dead crab.

9:46:  Anoles back at the half orange (zoom out).

10:20:  Close up of anoles at orange again.

10:40:  Different shot of anoles at orange (some dart in and out).

10:54:  End

 

Until  midnite Pacific time Monday night. Don’t wait! use this code: ZLEBRATELOVE. Order here.

Veronica Worthington writes from Cape Cod: “This September I found an anole  in my unheated, open greenhouse. I snapped a picture of him and he scurried off. Cold weather sets in, below freezing off and on, and I figure the anole  must not have made it but to my surprise a few days ago, January 14th,  I see him again and he’s perfectly fine. I have no idea how he could’ve gotten here, I have not brought any plants in to the greenhouse in a few years and I have no neighbors that could’ve had a pet lizard. Have you heard anything about anoles migrating north?”

Veronica then added in a subsequent email: “I find it so curious that this little guy ended up in my backyard. And that he has been able to survive all this time. No matter who I tell they say he must have arrived as a hitchhiker on a plant But I have not brought any plants into the greenhouse in a few years and it is always unheated in winter and the doors and sides are open all summer. I don’t know how far they travel naturally catchy but I can’t imagine that this little guy would’ve traveled very far on his own. I don’t have any neighbors close to me  that keep reptiles. The first picture is of him two days ago and the second picture is of him five months ago. Both times that I have seen him he is exactly where I saw him the last time, on a bag of wool. I raise sheep and that’s where the wool came from.”

 

The green anole, A. carolinensis, is the only native anole in North America. Over the years, the question of whether it is distinct from the Cuban A. porcatus has been debated–morphological differences are pretty minor, other than the Cubans generally being a bit larger.

Now, in an open access paper published last year in Ecology and Evolution, Johanna Wegener and colleagues have driven the final nail in the coffin of the idea that North American carolinensis is a distinct species.

For some time, we have known that carolinensis is nested phylogenetically in the western clade of porcatus, rending porcatus paraphyletic. This phylogeny indicates that North American populations are the result of a colonization event from western Cuba, perhaps 6-12 million years ago (see references in Wegener et al. paper).

The novel contribution of the Wegener et al. paper is to look for evidence of hybridization between recently introduced “porcatus” from Cuba and native “carolinensis.” And she found it in spades! The abstract, pasted at the bottom of this post, provides some more details and, of course, you can read the paper itself.

So, Florida populations of the green anole are derived from Cuban populations, and the two readily interbreed when given a chance. Given these facts, there is no justification for treating North American populations as a distinct species. The morphological differences that do exist–quite minor–are the result of geographic variation. Paraphyly plus no reproductive isolation = one species!

But now here’s where it gets interesting. By the rules of zoological nomenclature, the older name has precedence, and so this single species takes the name Anolis carolinensis. That’s right: A. carolinensis is the correct name for Cuban green anoles! I’m sure that won’t go over so well in some quarters.

But it gets more interesting! Cuban Anolis porcatus as currently recognized is not a monophyletic entity, as shown in the attached figure, based on Glor et al. (2005). As the figure shows, eastern populations of porcatus are more closely related to A. allisoni (remember, North American populations are nested in the western clade). Given that the species-level distinctness of allisoni has not been question, most systematists would recognize the two clades of porcatus as different species. Thus, the eastern clade retains the name porcatus.

Bottom line: both A. carolinensis and A. porcatus occur in Cuba!

Abstract

In allopatric species, reproductive isolation evolves through the accumulation of genetic incompatibilities. The degree of divergence required for complete reproductive isolation is highly variable across taxa, which makes the outcome of secondary contact between allopatric species unpredictable. Since before the Pliocene, two species of Anolis lizards, Anolis carolinensis and Anolis porcatus, have been allopatric, yet thisvperiod of independent evolution has not led to substantial species‐specific morphologicalvdifferentiation, and therefore, they might not be reproductively isolated. Invthis study, we determined the genetic consequences of localized, secondary contactvbetween the native green anole, A. carolinensis, and the introduced Cuban green anole, A. porcatus, in South Miami. Using 18 microsatellite markers, we found that the South Miami population formed a genetic cluster distinct from both parental species. Mitochondrial DNA revealed maternal A. porcatus ancestry for 35% of the individuals sampled from this population, indicating a high degree of cytonuclear discordance. Thus, hybridization with A. porcatus, not just population structure within A. carolinensis, may be responsible for the genetic distinctiveness of this population. Using treebased maximum‐likelihood analysis, we found support for a more recent, secondary introduction of A. porcatus to Florida. Evidence that ~33% of the nuclear DNA resulted from a secondary introduction supports the hybrid origin of the green anole population in South Miami. We used multiple lines of evidence and multiple genetic markers to reconstruct otherwise cryptic patterns of species introduction and hybridization. Genetic evidence for a lack of reproductive isolation, as well as morphological similarities between the two species, supports revising the taxonomy of A. carolinensis to include A. porcatus from western Cuba. Future studies should target the current geographic extent of introgression originating from the past injection of genetic material from Cuban green anoles and determine the consequences for the evolutionary trajectory of green anole populations in southern Florida.

Reader Roger Birkhead has asked for help ID’ing this Costa Rican anole on iNaturalist. Can anyone help?

How horrible! Read all about it on Daffodil’s Photo Blog.

Anole Annals readers no doubt recall All-America Park, where so many anole species cavort in South Miami. Turns out the city is “cleaning it up” which spells no good for our favorite lizards. Local A-A Park resident Christopher Cooke writes:

“I live next door to All America Park in South Miami (6820 SW 64th. Avenue), a formerly well known habitat for lizards – I’ve met people from everywhere who have come to study the lizards here.  I’m battling the City which is “sanitizing” the park and I’m looking for any information or references (past or present) in  lizard literature which  highlights the importance of this property as a wildlife environment.  My goal is to stop the “sanitizing” l and replant habitat material so as to restore a conducive environment for lizards and other wildlife.  Any help you can offer will be much appreciated.    Christopher Cooke, neighbor of Neil Losin – for those who know him.”

Please make comments on anything that may be useful. Good luck, Christopher!

And while on the topic, here’s a lovely photo by South Miami mayor and neuroethologist extraordinaire Phil Stoddard, taken near the park.