Photo by Andreas Kay, Flickr
Hey all!
Here’s a bit of lizard joy for you today!
HUGE shoutout and credit to The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo by Arteaga et al. because I can’t find any natural history info about this anole anywhere but in this book. If you can get it, you should! Because of current events they can’t do their normal herping tours (Tropical Herping) and could use the support. Their photography is amazing and you can get calendars, posters and pocket field guides!
NOW ON TO THE ANOLE.
Photo by Andreas Kay, iNaturalist
Anolis gracilipes, the Charm Anole, certainly is a charming little anole.
It’s been classified as a twig ecomorph, a group of small anoles whose bodies are adapted for narrow surfaces like, you guessed it, twigs. This little lizard can get up to 172-181 mm for males and 169-191 mm for females.
This anole has a brown colouring on its back, with triangular markings and green on its throat, down to its chest.
Photo by Jorge Britos, iNaturalist
Charm anoles can be found in Ecuador and Colombia, where they are common, but may depend on (unfortunately declining) forest canopies.
Photo by Edison Ocaña
Charm anoles are ambush predators and sometimes can be found at ground level.