Anoles in Commerce – Page 2

Watercolor drawing by Shelby Prindaville

Shelby Prindaville, Polychrotidae (Heatstack) detail, watercolor and pencil on paper, 30×22″, 2011

My watercolor drawings and figurative sculptures feature a variety of Anolis lizards. The visually fascinating characteristics of anoles combined with their small size yet reptilian “otherness” (occupying a middle ground between too-easily-anthropomorphized mammals and too-alien fish or invertebrates) make anoles an ideal animal representative for my broader ecological interests.

Shelby Prindaville, Anolis proboscis (Pair), watercolor, 3P art medium, and pencil on translucent paper, 16×24″, 2012

The drawings and sculptures I create with anoles use their innate character and abilities to explore a purgatorial space. The first drawing in the watercolor series puts anoles in place of rats in the rat king myth made famous in The Nutcracker; the use of anoles allows a way out of the diseased mass through voluntary autotomy and allegorically demonstrates that repairing environments requires sacrifice. Other drawings pull from subjects ranging from the Ouroboros to Terry Pratchett’s allegory of summer.

Shelby Prindaville, Anolis carolinensis and Mimosa Pudica (Falling), watercolor and pencil on velvet paper, 27×19″, 2012

My desire to sculpt small yet still anatomically accurate anoles has actually led to the development of a new polymer medium: 3P QuickCure Clay. I collaborate with LSU Chemistry Professor John Pojman and his company 3P, and my suggestion to create a clay and its subsequent development has allowed me to use a batch-curing process that achieves the intricately detailed results below.

Shelby Prindaville, Polychrotidae (Dive and Climb), 3P Clay, 4x8x2.5″, 2012

To see larger images or more of my artwork, please visit shelbyprindaville.com.

Lacertid Pays The Price For Being Mistaken For A Gecko; Thanks Geico

By Jonathan Losos

On September 21, 2012

In Anole Art, Literature, and Humor, Anoles in Commerce

We’ve previously discussed cases of anoles being mistaken for geckos, as well as the very negative effects that cats can have on green anoles. Turns out that anoles aren’t the only lizards that serve as gecko doppelgangers. And you might think that people wouldn’t mistake lacertids for anoles, but apparently that happens, too.

Anole Lodging?

By Joe Burgess

On September 8, 2012

In Anole Art, Literature, and Humor, Anoles in Commerce

As I am preparing for travel to the Lesser Antilles and looking at accommodations, I got to wondering. With all the anole research being conducted in all parts of their range I was curious about “Anole accommodations?” I have only come across two anole friendly places to stay, but there have to be more.
In Dominica there is the Zandoli Inn, which is the local name for anoles. But aside from the name and logo, that’s about it. The Ecolodge in Saba goes a bit further with their Anole cottage, which is completely decked out with Anolis sabanus décor. Of course I had to stay there.
Here is a wall in the room. How many sabanus can you count? Hint, there are more than 20.

If staying here, be careful of your privacy… there were several instances of peeping Tom’s outside my window. I caught this one in the act.

What Could Be Greener Than An Anole Reusable Lunch Bag?

By Jonathan Losos

On June 29, 2012

In Anoles in Commerce

Lunchskins are reuseable sandwich bags. Great idea? Or a green, scaly mess?

Tommy Bahama Markets An Anole Colored Shirt

By Jonathan Losos

On June 4, 2012

In Anoles in Commerce

Cheap Tommy Bahama Cohen V Neck Tee Shirt (Color: Blue Anole, Size L)

I kid you not. Check it out here. The color is “blue anole.” Just what does that mean? For one thing, it doesn’t look like the blue anoles I know.

Your intrepid reporter contacted Tommy Bahama to get to the bottom of this. To my amazement, they responded in about 3 minutes! Here’s what they said:

“Thank you for contacting Tommy Bahama. A Blue Anole is a type of lizard that is known for its distinctive blue color. Our design team determined that this particular shade of blue for the Cohen V-Neck T-Shirt (#TD2753) was similar enough to the shade of the lizard to be a color choice. Please let us know if we can be of any further assistance regarding this matter.

We appreciate your patronage & continued interest in Tommy Bahama!

Kind Regards,

Tommy Bahama

Guest Services

Relax in Style”

The good news, though, is that even though TB sells it for this fine quality T for $48, you can find it for as low as $45 by doing a little googling.

Anole Fridge Magnets

By Jonathan Losos

On May 26, 2012

In Anoles in Commerce

This one can be purchased from Zazzle, and if you go to the bottom of the page, you’ll see a variety of other fridge magnets. Who knew there was such variety?

Farmville Anole

By Jonathan Losos

On May 9, 2012

In Anoles in Commerce

From http://farmvillefreak.com/farmville-animals/farmville-glitch-green-anole-farm-coins?utm_medium=twitter

I have absolutely no idea what this means, but it seems to be a big development in the Farmville world.

Anole Glass Figurine

By Jonathan Losos

On April 29, 2012

In Anoles in Commerce

Only $4.99, available from Amazon.

Island Lizards Need Your Help

By Jonathan Losos

On April 1, 2012

In Anoles in Commerce

This isn’t strictly anole-related, but I think many faithful readers of Anole Annals will be interested in this fascinating project:

UCLA anole biologist and film-maker extraordinarie Neil Losin (whose films about anole research we’ve featured before) is teaming up with University of Miami’s Nathan Dappen, who just earned his Ph.D. studying the Ibiza Wall Lizard, a threatened species that’s only found on the Mediterranean islands of Ibiza and Formentera. They are working on a book: Symbol: Wall Lizards of the Pityusic Archipelago. Both Losin and Dappen are both professional photographers as well as biologists (e.g., here); they want to bring together science and photography in the very first book about these lizards with the goal of captivating the two million tourists that visit these islands every year.

Ibiza Wall Lizards appear in art, sculpture, and even tattoos on people’s bodies, but despite their iconic status, few tourists or locals know much about them, and there’s no place to learn more about this fascinating species. Ibiza Wall Lizards may have the greatest color diversity of any reptile – they range from green, to blue, to orange, to black! The only rival I can think of are Martin Whiting’s flat lizards from South Africa. They’re also play an important ecological role as plant pollinators and seed dispersers, so they’re crucial to the health of this island ecosystem (check out their award-winning short video on these lizards). The Symbol will bring the folklore, biology, and conservation of these lizards to everyone through spectacular photos and easy-to-read text. The book will be available in four languages – Spanish, English, German and Italian – the four most commonly spoken languages of the islands. It will be a perfect souvenir for tourists, and a wonderful gift to the locals.

Losin and Dappen need your help to get the project off the ground! They are raising money for the book on Kickstarter, a popular crowd-funding platform (for those of you unaware of Kickstarter and similar websites, the idea is that people post projects in need of funding and people donate whatever they want; if the goal is reached in the time period allotted, usually several weeks, credit cards are charged and the project is funded; otherwise, no donations are taken). By donating to this project, you can help make lizards an ambassador for nature on these islands and change the way people think about Ibiza’s reptilian icon forever. Plus, contributors earn cool rewards, like acknowledgement in the book, limited edition photographs, and signed copies of the book itself.

Check out Losin and Dappen’s Kickstarter campaign here. All contributions are secure (billed through Amazon’s payment system) and your credit card won’t be charged unless Losin and Dappen reach their funding goal.

Thanks for taking the time to check out this important project!

Anoles on Postage Stamps–Who Knew There Were So Many?

By Melissa Aja

On March 26, 2012

In Anoles in Commerce

Uwe Bartelt of Germany clearly enjoys the distinction of being the world’s greatest collector of anole postage stamps. Presented below are the highlights of his collection. Who knew there were so many anole stamps? What a wondrous exhibition! Click on each stamp to get a close-up view. More info below.