Dear experts, I will be very grateful if anyone could help me identify these three species I found in Roatán, Honduras.
As reward, I offer this beautiful Allison’s anole (Anolis allisoni) photo. Cheers!
Category: Ask the Experts Page 2 of 7
I photographed this knight anole 9 November 2015 at Criadero de Cocodrilos, Matanzas, Cuba. I tentatively assigned this one to Anolis equestris juraguensis based on the range map on page 257 in “Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies” by Schwartz and Henderson (1991). However after reviewing the detailed descriptions in Schwartz & Garrido (1972), I believe this individual is a better match for nominate A. e. equestris. I base this primarily on the yellowish occipital patch and contrasting blue color on its head. The range map in Schwartz & Garrido does not include this particular locality, but nominate is geographically close. Confirmation or corrections are welcome.
My friend, Ricardo Kriebel (post-doc at University of Wisconsin – Madison), asked me for some help identifying an anole he came across in Costa Rica. He took these photos a couple of days ago in Cerros de Escazu, San Jose, Costa Rica in a cloud forest at ~2000m. Can anyone identify this species for him?
Ricardo reports that the lizard was unusually easy to catch (which says a lot since he is a botanist and not accustomed to hand-catching anoles). He came across it on the ground in the leaf litter and it didn’t move when he got close to it. Weather wasn’t likely to blame for it’s sluggishness as it was fairly warm out. Maybe this species relies heavily on crypsis? The body pattern in the photos above certainly looks like it would blend in well in leaf litter.
Ricardo also pointed out that on the top of the head the pattern resembled eyes. He noted that eye mimicry is common in this region in insects as a defense against predatory birds (e.g. Janzen et al. 2010). He proposed that perhaps the pattern on the top of this anole’s head was a similar type of mimic meant to resemble the eye or face of something an aerial predator should be wary of, like a snake. In a quick search I was unable to find any papers proposing mimicry of this type in anoles, so I turn to the Anole Annals readers. What do you think? Eyespots or random pattern? Does anyone know of any research on potential mimicry of this type in anoles?
Hi anole enthusiast!
It’s a recurrent problem in pet shops, the identification of the animals which are less common. In France, a pet shop announced “Anolis hendersoni” for this anole? It’s seems wrong, I need your opinion.
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Thank you for your interest.
After looking through my photos from my trip last week to Bimini in the Bahamas, I was disappointed when I realized that none of us seemed to have any pictures of Anolis distichus. Or maybe we did? Among all the typical sagrei-looking anole photos was this guy:
Anolis distichus or Anolis sagrei???
Without telling you why I thought this was a distichus, or why others I have asked are torn between distichus and sagrei, I am curious what people think. What species is this?
I was just curious if any one could help me identify an anole I found in central Costa rica, near San Ramon in the Alberto Manuel Brenese Biological Reserve. It appears to be a male, and I’m assuming in the Dactyloa genus. My guess would be the Dactyloa casildae, but I am family uncertain. It would be greatly appreciated if someone could help me out! Cheers and good health!
I’m in southern Costa Rica doing field work with bats, but once an anole lover, always an anole lover so when I get a night off I like to go herping. Since everyone loves a sleeping anole (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, among others), I thought I’d share some photos that a friend and I took while wandering around at night. I’m not sure what the last one is; I’m guessing Anolis polylepis (we’re at 1100m at the Las Cruces Biological Station and it was sleeping about 1m above the ground).
Anolis capito. Photo by Jon Flanders
Anolis aquaticus. Photo by Jon Flanders
Anolis polylepis? Photo by Jon Flanders
Hi Everyone, I am in the market for a new field camera. Looking for something durable, portable, and that can take great shots of anoles and their dewlaps (so good at close-ups, but not necessarily a macro lens). I currently use a Nikon D5100 SLR, but it is fairly bulky and fragile. What sorts of cameras and camera systems do you use in the field? Thanks!
One of the age old questions in anole morphology is at what point do you stop counting lamellae on the toepad?
Without giving any more information on various techniques or methods, I thought it would be interesting to ask the AA community their personal opinions. Below I have attached a flatbed scan of a toepad. Could people please fill out the corresponding poll below, and I will present the results in a follow up post!
Lamellae numbered 1-51 on the 4th digit of an Anolis lizard hindfoot
This individual might have arrived on Grand Cayman with a shipment of mango trees from Florida. We have some ideas, but want to solicit input from the experts.
![orange-anole-1[1]_1](https://i0.wp.com/www.anoleannals.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/orange-anole-11_1.jpg?ssl=1)