Category: Anoles in Commerce Page 1 of 4

Trunk-crown: A. allisoni.

Crown-giant: A. equestris. Photo by Janson Jones

Twig anole: A. occultus

Trunk-ground: A. marcanoi

Anole Annals is pleased to introduce the AA Ecomorph Line of Wristwear. These snazzy chronometers will be the hit of any party, and would make an excellent holiday gift for the punctuality-impaired. Our initial  release features four of everyone’s favorite habitat specialists, but negotiations are currently underway to land the two remaining ecomorphs. As for the future, only time will tell, but can some mainland timepiece be far behind? Much less a Chamaeleolis ticker?

Review expert Chloe Robinson of Top9Rated reported that “…anyone who loves the great outdoors or has a passion for hiking knows that the one travel companion you should never leave home without is a reliable hiking watch…” When you go out hunting to see those beautiful creatures,  time will pass without you knowing it. That is why you a hiking watch is essential to keep track of time.

These retail at at zazzle.com for the low, low price of $47.95, but if you act quickly, there’s a 20% off sale through October 2–use the code “OCTOBERSAVER” at checkout. Don’t be the last one on your block to not have a lizard on your watch!

Trunk-Crown: Anolis allisoni

Crown-giant: Anolis equestris

Twig: Anolis occultus

Trunk-ground: Anolis marcanoi

Be the first in your town have this on your cruiser.

How’s this for a nifty anole decal? A gift from AA contributor and photographer extraordinaire Joe Burgess, the window dressing is the handiwork of Floridian Gary Swenk, who has this to say about himself and his unusual trade: “I am a retired law enforcement officer now doing vinyl graphics from home. I attached a catalog that I use and I also can convert pics, images etc. to vector graphics for making the decals. Black and white or pics with good contrast work best (not all pics, images are able to convert but it is easy for me to test them). I have a lot of different colors available. They can be made in many sizes ( 3″ up to 11″ is a good size). I can customize a graphic with names etc., using numerous fonts. Price is based upon size and single colors would run $2 to $5 for the sizes mentioned plus actual shipping cost which would be minimal. My cell is 904-540-3879.” And his emai is customdecals4u@yahoo.com.

Part of Gary Swenk’s lizard catalogue.

Imagine my surprise to stumble onto a farm that specializes on goatsmilk soap named Anole Nook Farm. I contacted the proprietor, Hannah Shumaker, who kindly explained:

“I named my farm/business after counting 27 anoles sunning themselves on the front of my house one morning.  I’ve since moved, and while my current farm is not quite as much of an anole haven as the first, I still see them regularly.  I’m a North Carolina native and have always been fond of the little fellows.  I’m still keeping an eye out for the elusive blue anole.

My business is locally/sustainably grown soaps.  I use the goatsmilk from my farm and locally grown ingredients in my soaps.  Right now that’s sheep or beef tallow, rapeseed oil, honey, and local botanical additives.  Here are links to a little page about my business and my poorly maintained facebook page.

That’s me and my anole connection, in a nutshell.  Anoles are awesome!”

Woo-hoo! Check out these anole beauties. And the green one actually has a red dewlap and looks passably like Anolis carolinensis. Google “plush anole” or “glitter anole” and you can have your own–for as little as eight buckaroos.

But there’s a backstory. Over the years, two undergraduates who worked in my lab each gave me a plush anole as a thank you present when they graduated. One day I was talking on the phone and idly picked up one of the stuffed fellows. Still attached to it was the information tag. And as I opened the tag, which contained natural history information, reasonably accurate, on A. carolinensis, I was amazed to see this:

No doubt, you can see one cause of my amazement. That’s no Carolina green anole, but rather its ecomorphic döppelgánger from Hispaniola, A. chlorocyanus. And, moreover, that’s not just any photo of a Hispaniolan green–that’s my photo! And, as you might have guessed, used without permission.

Incensed, I looked to the bottom of the tag for the company that makes the toy, Fiesta Toys. I looked them up online and went to their contact page. I filled in the little box on the page, noting that they had used my intellectual property without my permission. I pushed “send,” figuring I’d never get any response, much less satisfaction.

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On sale at Walgreens

Is this a long-tongued anole or an anole-shaped chameleon? And, regardless, can a lizard subsist on a lint-based diet (which would include, I would presume, table crumbs and dead insects)?

Anole Annals correspondent and skink biologist Matt Brandley recently sent me a padded envelope. When I pulled out its contents, above, I was bummed–crushed in transited. But I opened the bag and laid out the pieces.

Not crushed! Just disassembled.

The end result, perched on my computer monitor:

Note the purple dewlap, like some Anolis carolinensis from Hawaii.

Here’s the info from the company. Can anyone translate? There’s a whole zoo of different animals in their product line, but no other anoles.

Anole holiday shopping season is now officially open! What could be better than a Christmas tree festooned with ecomorphs?

http://www.pix4pups.com/product/33767602/anole-holiday-ornament

Picture this on your wall! You can buy this enormous anole graphic and put it wherever you want. The 52″ version is less than $60. Interestingly, this is the same image that was in the book Snakes and Reptiles: The Scariest Cold-Blooded Creatures on Earth, which I reviewed a year ago and which was panned by several commenters.

Uwe Bartelt has done it again! The world’s greatest anoli-philatelist, Uwe showcased a portion of his collection a few months. Here he updates us with some of his latest postal anoles, all purchased this year from eBay.