Photo by Janson Jones from dust tracks on the web.
That’s what’s happening in Florida, according to dust tracks on the web.
Category: Natural History Observations Page 17 of 34
Albino A. capito from http://www.wildherps.com/images/herps/standard/10081124PD.jpg
A very rare picture of an albino anole. I searched on a lot of websites, but found no information. I suppose that albinos are quickly eaten. Unlike nocturnal reptiles for which light color is not an important problem, for anoles that are heliophilic, the light color must be a problem.
In general, albino specimens have a relatively short life expectancy (the photo shows a just hatched individual)–either they are eaten because they are too much visible by the predators, or they couldn’t eat because they are too visible by the prey. The percentage of albinos relative to normal specimens is one case per 100,000, although this probably varies by species.
Back to anoles, unlike nocturnal reptiles for which light color is not an important problem, for our anoles which use a lot the light (for thermoregulation, to show off their bright colors, so that their dominance displays can be seen), being albino may be a huge problem.
One option might be to copy what is done when keeping albino alligators in zoos. Some of these zoos keep these crocodilians in total darkness! But anoles can’t see very well in the dark. The keeping of albino anoles does not really seem possible.
If anybody has an article, I’m interested.
During a field survey in Muelas (21-08-2011; 21:07), buffer zone of the Santa Fe National Park in central Panama, an A. lionotus was captured in its sleeping posture on the river bank. Interestingly, they seem to “mimic” the dead tree branch, but being cryptic at night does not make much sense to me; even if the predator is capable of night vision, being perched on a tree without leaves does not seem to be an advantage.
Anolis lionotus
Anolis maynardi confrontation. Photo by Pat Shipman
AA‘s correspondent in the Little Cayman bureau, Pat Shipman, reports:
We are in Little Cayman, greatly enjoying our anoles (maynardi & sagrei). This morning we observed an interesting confrontation between two large, presumed male maynardi. Not only were they head bobbing and flashing their dewlaps at each other, but they put their tails UP and pivoted their whole bodies forwards & back. The lower one in this snap is showing the tail up posture with dewlap. Unfortunately it doesn’t show the rocking motion. We had not seen this rocking or pivoting posture before.
The second snap is a maynardi showing its ability to go dark.
Does anyone know how large a territory A. maynardihas? We see them quite regularly in the same places, day after day.
Dark A. maynardi. Photo by Pat Shipman
Anole in the drink. Photo by Pat Shipman
Editor’s note: through an editorial lapse, this post has remained unposted for a while. But given the great interest in the recent post on aquatic anoles of Costa Rica (be sure to read the comments), as well as the call for aquatic anole photos, now seems the time!
Some months ago I posted about A. maynardi playing possum in the birdbath after taking offense at my photo-taking and jumping in. Here is another post about this same behavior. A few days later, without any human intervention I found what is probably the very same anole doing the “dead anole float” in the birdbath, eyes closed, limbs limp. While I watched three different species of bird came to drink from the bird bath — a bananaquit, a Northern mockingbird, and a Zenaida dove. They did seem a trifle disconcerted to find an anole in their soup, but none showed any interest in eating it (which I would have expected only from the mocker). We are wondering if, in the height of the dry season, which it was, our anoles are soaking up moisture through their skin. The closest other source of fresh (-ish) water is a murky pond at least 1/4 mile away, which is a long distance for a little lizard.
Anolis pogus male on pandanus root in hotel garden surveying his territory (J.Burgess)
It has been widely published that Anolis pogus is only found in high elevation on the island of St Martin. While it is true, it is very common and in high densities at these higher elevations and more mesic environments, however I observed this species at lower elevations and even only meters from the beach. I came across this species several times (by accident) while making my way around the island, even in downtown Phillipsburg. Mongoose certainly take their toll on this ground, bush, and trunk “generalist” and there were many areas on the island where neither A. pogus nor A. gingivinus are easily observed. I do not agree with the assumption that this species is excluded by competition by the larger species as both species were observed in great numbers in these areas where both are present. This species certainly deserves another look at its ecology.
The legume forest in the arroyo on the north side of Graffiti Hill on the U.S. Naval Station, Guantánamo Bay, Cuba is an anole-rich environment, including Anolis smallwoodi. But it is also has high densities of the Cuban boa, Epicrates angulifer. Smaller Cuban boas can often be seen in the canopy, looking for- smallwoodi? While radio-tracking Cuban boas in the aforementioned arroyo I came upon the entwined skeletons of a juvenile Cuban boa and an Anolis smallwoodi, the result of an encounter that was lethal for both participants.
We’ve talked about anole predation on butterflies before, and now Karen Cusick has photo-documented the events leading up to it on Daffodil’s Photo Blog. This is the same green anole that Karen previously documented with an enormous moth in its mouth.
The moment before the attack was launched.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38KHc6j2-wI&feature=plcp
Hard to come to any other conclusion after observing this video clip of the Big Kahuna shot by John Rahn, right after the brown anole (BK to his friends) ate an ant, and then the spittle flew. Notice, too, the translucent, glowing tail where the sun strikes it–nice effect!
That’s right, you heard it here first. Read all about it, including a great sequence of photos and the story behind it, at Daffodil’s Photo Blog. We’ve mentioned this site before, as it’s the site of anole lover and author Karen Cusick, who wrote Lizards on the Fence. If you check out her blog, you’ll see that there are regular posts on the antics of her backyard greens and browns. Worth a visit!