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After my resounding success mid-October searching for Anolis Allisoni, a rare yet beautiful anole native to Cuba that has been found in Florida, I very recently returned to Naples to search, this time, at two different addresses reported to contain the elusive anoles.

Upon returning to the first address, I had to search for a long time, 20-30 minutes, before finally stumbling upon one adult male A. Allisoni relaxing on the top of a fence.

I only managed to snap one picture of it in this pose before it hopped onto a palm tree on the other side of the fence. As it slowly made its way up the tree, while cautiously keeping an eye on me, I snapped a few more photos.

After this, I moved on to the next address, about 15 minutes further south in Naples. The area to search was very small, but there were several dense bushes to sift through. After a half-hour spent combing the bushes and peering into the greenery, I finally spotted another adult male A. Allisoni in the underbrush, close to the ground. Unfortunately, he was so deep in the bushes that there was no way to get a clear photo. After an extensive chase, where I scratched myself all over with pointy branches as I tried pursuing the elusive anole through the bushes, he eventually disappeared.

Defeated, I looked up and spotted a small, likely female, A. allisoni hopping from twig to twig much higher in the trees above. This one also completely disappeared as I went to take a picture, unfortunately. However, just as I was about to give up hope and leave, I spotted one final small anole climbing the trunk of a nearby tree at hip level. I crept over and quickly wrapped my arms around the tree where I last saw the anole, and, sure enough, safely snagged it!

Again, at first glance, it appears to be a green anole. But look at the ear cavity. In this observation of a male A. allisoni, the ear cavity is also more of a gash, instead of a hole. And the large scales on the snout would also imply A. allisoni. What do you think?

Join me on Instagram @dailyanole to follow my adventures!

#DidYouAnole? – Anolis lyra

By Chelsea Connor

On November 5, 2020

In All Posts

Photo by Andreas Kay, Flickr

Found from northwestern Ecuador to central Colombia, Anolis lyra is a trunk anole that gets its name (Lyre Anole) from the lyre shape on the back of its head.

Photo by Danny Rosero, iNaturalist

As it is sympatric with several other Ecuadorean anoles, it helps that this one has distinct features, like the marking on its head and its very distinct dewlap that is red in males with a dark central spot, and grey-white in females (also with the spot). They have an SVL of about 77mm (males) and 73mm (females).

Photo by Fabio Cianferoni, iNaturalist

The Lyre Anole is near threatened and affected by habitat loss from deforestation.

Searching for the Elusive Allison’s Anole in South Florida

By delton howard

On October 31, 2020

In All Posts, Introduced Anoles, Notes from the Field, Species Accounts

Driven by my quest to find Allison’s anoles (A. Allisoni) in the wild, a few weeks ago I dove into a pit of research papers to look for known sightings and/or colonies of A. Allisoni in Florida. I came upon a few vague notations of a colony in Naples with an address included. So, as part of a herping trip for various anoles and lizards to Miami last week, I stopped in Naples along the way.

I drove to the address and, after parking and entering the area, the first thing I saw was a large male specimen of A. Allisoni perched on the side of a palm tree. Shocked and delighted, I snapped a picture.

To see such a beautiful species of anole in Florida in the wild was breathtaking.

The male allisoni was perched on the palm tree with one large male A. sagrei (brown anole) below him. As I approached the palm to get a clearer picture, the sagrei leaped off the palm onto a smaller scrub, and the allisoni followed right after. The two briefly scuffled, nipping at each other before both went their separate ways and I did not see them again.

Strolling around the area to search for more, I found a very small green juvenile anole. It appeared to be allisoni, but did not give me enough time to properly examine it before scuttling up a tree and into the canopy.

Upon returning to the same spot where the first allisoni was, there was another just a few feet away that I had somehow missed the first time. This one had no hints of blue on its head, but simply from its large size, I took a guess that it was an allisoni. After succeeding at capturing it, I took a picture:

Upon first glance, it seemed to be A. carolinensis. However, on a closer look, both the shape of the ear hole and the large scales on the snout suggested allisoni. Here’s a picture of A. carolinensis for comparison:

For the genetics experts reading this, is there evidence of allisoni interbreeding with carolinensis?

Upon revisiting the address the next day, I searched in the same place I found the first allisoni, and, sure enough, found another one, this time suspected to be a female.

Again, I notice the oddly-shaped ear holes and eyes that seem too large for the head, more characteristic of allisoni than carolinensis.

In total, at this colony, I observed four possible A. allisoni, including two adult males, one adult female, and one juvenile.

I plan to return to check for more allisoni before the warm weather ends and anole activity decreases for the winter.

Frog-Eating Bats Eat Anoles

By Jonathan Losos

On October 29, 2020

In All Posts

Back in 2013, AA featured a number of posts discussing whether and how often bats eat anoles. The discussion ended with a report of a paper documenting extensive anole hunting by the big-eared bat in Panama (see photo above). That paper described how the bats captured their prey: “M. microtis hunts on the wing, checking leaf by leaf in the forest while hovering up and down the understory vegetation.”

Now, a new study has used DNA metabarcoding of fecal samples from the frog-eating bat, Trachops cirrhosus, and has discovered that the bat needs a new common name: the frog-and-lizard-eating bat. That’s right: although DNA from a variety of frog genera was found in the bat poop, the second most common taxon (inhabiting 22% of the turds) after Pristimantis frogs was anoles!

The study did some other clever things as well in an attempt to figure out how the bats found their prey. Here’s what they say in the discussion:

“We found DNA from Anolis lizards in almost a quarter of our bat samples, but bats showed a fairly low response to the rustling sounds of anoles moving through leaf-litter. A previous anecdotal report from Honduras described finding a dead anole in the mistnet pocket with a female T. cirrhosus (Valdez and LaVal 1971). Anoles do make alarm sounds, but do not call, therefore we anticipate that the rustling sounds made by anoles moving through leaf-litter is the most obvious cue they present to T. cirrhosus. We had hypothesized that we would find greater responses to anole rustling sounds in dry season conditions (lizards moving through dry leaves) than wet because movement through dry leaves produces louder, more conspicuous rustling sounds. While we did find anoles in the diet of more T. cirrhosus in the dry season than in the wet season, and we did find higher response to the sounds of anoles moving through dry versus wet leaf litter, these differences were not significant. Why bats did not show more response in general to anole rustles is unclear. One possibility is that since the speaker was in a fixed location, the rustling sound does not move in space as a real moving animal would. Additionally, rustles are relatively low amplitude compared to the mating calls we presented to the bats, which could account for the lower responses. Also, anoles are diurnal, therefore we might not predict them to be moving around at night, and rustling sounds could be indicative of many different potential prey, some more palatable than others. Bats may thus be locating anole prey by some other mechanism than rustling sounds, and one bat did attack a silent, motionless plastic anole model, indicating that T. cirrhosus may be able to locate sleeping lizards using echolocation alone. Anoles are diurnal, so unless one was scared off of its perch, they are unlikely to be moving through the leaf litter at night.”

And just because it’s so cool, I have to add the beginning of the next paragraph:

“Diet samples indicated some predation events that appear to be rare, including predation on the hummingbird F. mellivora, and on the bats Glossophaga soricina, C. perspicillata, and Micronycteris microtis.“

The Anole Annals Photo Contest: 2020 Edition

By Aryeh Miller

On October 24, 2020

In All Posts

Aryeh Miller and Ansley Petherick

Which anole species will grace the pages of this year’s calendar? Pictured here is Anolis capito. Photograph by Aryeh Miller.

The Anole Annals Photo Contest: 2020 Edition.

While some of us were able to complete field work earlier this year, many of us were not. Being largely away from Anolis this field season has made us relish their spectacular diversity even more, and we want to celebrate such diversity once again by sharing our favorite photos. That’s pretty much like field work, right? Like the previous years, we at Anole Annals want your best anole photographs for our 2021 calendar.

Here’s how it works: anyone who wants to participate will submit their favorite photos. The editors of Anole Annals will choose a set of 30-40 finalists from that initial pool. We’ll then put those photos up for a vote on this blog, and the 12 winning photos will be chosen by readers of Anole Annals, as well as a panel of anole photography experts. The grand prize winning photo will be featured on the front cover of the 2021 Anole Annals calendar, and the second place winner will be featured on the back cover; both photographers will win a free calendar!

The Rules

Submit your photos (as many as you’d like) as email attachments to anoleannalsphotos@gmail.com. To make sure that your submissions arrive, please send an accompanying email without any attachments to confirm that we’ve received them. Photos must be at least 150 dpi and print to a size of 11 x 17 inches. If you are unsure how to resize your images, the simplest thing to do is to submit the raw image files produced by your digital camera (or if you must, a high quality scan of a printed image). If you elect to alter your own images, don’t forget that it’s always better to resize than to resample. Images with watermarks or other digital alterations that extend beyond color correction, sharpening and other basic editing will not be accepted. We are not going to deal with formal copyright law and ask only your permission to use your image for the calendar and related content on Anole Annals (more specifically, by submitting your photos, you are agreeing to allow us to use them in the calendar). We, in turn, agree that your images will never be used without attribution and that we will not profit financially from their use (the small amount of royalties we receive are used to purchase calendars for the winners). Please only submit photos you’ve taken yourself, not from other photographers–by submitting photos, you are declaring that you are the photographer and have the authority to allow the photograph to be used in the calendar if it is chosen.

Please provide a short description of the photo that includes: (1) the species name, (2) the location where the photo was taken, and (3) any other relevant information. Be sure to include your full name in your email as well. Deadline for submission is November 13, 2020.

Good luck, and we look forward to seeing your photos!

#DidYouAnole? – Anolis barbatus (Chamaeleolis Clade)

By Chelsea Connor

On October 22, 2020

In All Posts

Photo by Pascal Samson, iNaturalist

Hey!

It is still the best month ever, Halloween, and so we are continuing with anoles that channel that.

Today, is an anole masquerading as another lizard, Anolis barbatus.

Anolis barbatus is one of six species of anoles in the Chamaeleolis clade. This clade of anoles, all from Cuba, are called False Chameleons… because they look like chameleons. Bet you weren’t expecting that.

A. chamaeleonides by Alex Alfil, iNaturalist

False Chameleons have independent eye movement much like true Chameleons, and additionally have that bony casque. They have very cryptic colouring which helps them blend into the twigs they spend time on, and move slowly while swaying in order to mimic a twig swaying in the wind. But they can move fast to get away from persistent negative stimulus. They are also fairly large anoles, but despite this spend most of their time on twigs and small branches. These anoles are pretty stocky with an SVL of about 15-17cm and short limbs and tail.

False Chameleons exhibit very little sexual dimorphism. Both sexes have dewlaps and males are somewhat larger than the females, but the best way to tell is to by checking the postanal scales.

Photo by Veronika Zahradníčková

These anoles are also called Snail-eating Anoles because, well, they eat snails. They have broad, blunt teeth which enables them to crush the shells. They also feed on insects and because of their adaptations for crunching through snail shells, they are also able to feed on beetles and other insects with harder exoskeletons. They crush the shells, spit them out and then eat the snail. False Chameleon anoles also lack caudal autotomy, so they can’t drop their tails like other anoles do.

Photo by Veronika Holáňová

The five other species in this clade are A. agueroi, A. chamaeleonides, A. porcus, A. guamuhaya and A. sierramaestrae and it turns out this was kind of about all of them, but that’s OK! I can change my format like that if I want!

I’m not sure if their tails are prehensile, so if you do, please let me know!

#DidYouAnole – Anolis dracula

By Chelsea Connor

On October 15, 2020

In All Posts

Adult male, male, female and subadult male

Hey y’all!! Happy Halloween month!

I found a really cool anole, that I know you will all enjoy.

This week we are looking at Anolis dracula, which sadly didn’t get its specific epithet from the vampire, but from the reserve where it was found.

Dracula Anole (top) and Equatorial Anole (bottom). Images from Yánez-Muñoz et al. (2018)

Anolis dracula can be found at ~2200m in the Andes in Ecuador and Southern Colombia, and is very similar in appearance to the Equatorial Anole. It can only be distinguished from Equatorial Anoles, that inhabit the same range, by closer examination of the skull or hemipene, or by genetic analysis. They have a snout-to-vent length of about 70-82mm. Female Dracula Anoles can also have a dewlap smaller than that of the male.

Dewlaps of A) Adult male Dracula Anole, B) Female, C) Subadult female, and D) Male Equatorial Anole. Images from Yánez-Muñoz et al. (2018)

They are also active on the ground, and were caught in pitfall traps as noted in Yánez-Muñoz et al. (2018), where the species is described.

Festive Anoles Expanding Range in Singapore

By Jonathan Losos

On October 11, 2020

In All Posts

Festive anole in the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore

We’ve reported previously on the introduction of festive anoles (a.k.a., brown anoles) to Singapore. Now, a new report reveals that they are, indeed, spreading far and wide in the island state. How long before they make it to Malaysia (if not already)?

From Hongxia and Zhiyuan. 2020

#DidYouAnole – Anolis lososi

By Chelsea Connor

On October 8, 2020

In All Posts

Hey! Hope everyone has been having a good month so far!

As we all know it is October, my favourite time of year, and I am trying to bring you anoles that can fit the season. For now, here’s an anole whose female has an orange and black dewlap, the official unofficial colours of Halloween.

Anolis lososi is an Ecuadorean anole that tends to be found in open areas of forest.

The anoles are usually about 55-60 mm (SVL) and have bands on their tails and limbs. Their colouring is grey to green, sometimes brown, and resembles lichen. The females have yellow-orange dewlaps with black spots, while males have white, unpatterned dewlaps.

The limbs of this anole are short and it has been found sleeping on twigs and ferns from 2 to 8m off the ground.

Because this anole was recently found and described, there’s not a lot of information about it. Yet!

Journal of Natural History, 2017. doi:10.1080/00222933.2017.1391343

A Walk Down Another Memory Lane Brings Another Species Turnover

By Walter Meshaka

On October 7, 2020

In All Posts

Barnacle Historic State Park in Coconut Grove, Florida, where crested anoles have replaced brown anoles over the past 15 years.

Not long ago, I posted results from a return visit to a beloved South Miami site, the Doc Thomas House, that experienced a change in the dominant anole species following a change in canopy development. Another fine place that shares a then-and-now story is the Barnacle Historic State Park in Coconut Grove, also in south Florida. The first visit to the Barnacle was in 2005 when we conducted a herp bioblitz at this wonderful coastal park.

On 6 July 2007, anoles were counted and their perch heights recorded at the Barnacle. Anolis cristatellus was there and in the surrounding, area but it was greatly outnumbered by long-time resident, A. sagrei, at the park. In 2007, A. cristatellus occupied higher perch sites than A. sagrei. Alas, time was not kind to A. sagrei. A return visit to the site on 14 February 2020 revealed a very different arrangement of things. Anolis cristatellus was now everywhere and much more numerous than A. sagrei had been in 2007. Only one A. sagrei, and a possible hybrid, was seen in 2020, and the perch heights of A. cristatellus shifted in the opposite direction. The habitat historically had been open and so favorable to A. sagrei. Between 2005 and 2020, the hammock had remained well-canopied, and the side walls were well-shaded, to the liking of A. cristatellus. Thus, unlike at the Doc Thomas House, where canopy development facilitated colonization by A. cristatellus from surrounding area, the Barnacle habitat was predisposed to its colonization.