false chameleon – Anole Annals

Photo by Miguel Landestoy

Hello, it’s me your favourite PhD student!
If you don’t follow me on Twitter I was celebrating getting into a PhD program last week. I’m still really excited but the anoles wait for no one and I found an anole I really like so I’m here to pass this knowledge on to you.

This week’s anole is Anolis landestoyi, another chameleon-like anole, and closely related to the anoles of the chamaeleonides clade of Cuba.

These anoles, found in the forest of the Dominican Republic, have an SVL of 122-135 mm and short tails. Similar to the chamaeleonides anoles, they have large heads, though not quite as large as the snail-eating anoles.

How a Well-Hidden Giant Got Uncovered: the Discovery of a New Anole Species from Hispaniola - Anole Annals
Photo: Miguel Landestoy

Anolis landestoyi is a mossy green in colour with spotches of brown, giving it a similar appearance to tree bark covered in the lichen or moss that are abundant in its range. Males have a pale coloured dewlap with some light blue and white stripes, while females have smaller slightly lighter coloured dewlaps. Like other chameleon-like anoles, their diet includes various species of arthropods, but no mention of snails sadly.

Anolis landestoyi (2 of 2) [image] | EurekAlert! Science News
Photo: Miguel Landestoy

Photo by Pascal Samson, iNaturalist

Hey!

It is still the best month ever, Halloween, and so we are continuing with anoles that channel that.

Today, is an anole masquerading as another lizard, Anolis barbatus.

Anolis barbatus is one of six species of anoles in the Chamaeleolis clade. This clade of anoles, all from Cuba, are called False Chameleons… because they look like chameleons. Bet you weren’t expecting that.

A. chamaeleonides by Alex Alfil, iNaturalist

False Chameleons have independent eye movement much like true Chameleons, and additionally have that bony casque. They have very cryptic colouring which helps them blend into the twigs they spend time on, and move slowly while swaying in order to mimic a twig swaying in the wind. But they can move fast to get away from persistent negative stimulus. They are also fairly large anoles, but despite this spend most of their time on twigs and small branches. These anoles are pretty stocky with an SVL of about 15-17cm and short limbs and tail.

False Chameleons exhibit very little sexual dimorphism. Both sexes have dewlaps and males are somewhat larger than the females, but the best way to tell is to by checking the postanal scales.

Photo by Veronika Zahradníčková

These anoles are also called Snail-eating Anoles because, well, they eat snails. They have broad, blunt teeth which enables them to crush the shells. They also feed on insects and because of their adaptations for crunching through snail shells, they are also able to feed on beetles and other insects with harder exoskeletons. They crush the shells, spit them out and then eat the snail. False Chameleon anoles also lack caudal autotomy, so they can’t drop their tails like other anoles do.

Photo by Veronika Holáňová

The five other species in this clade are A. agueroi, A. chamaeleonides, A. porcus, A. guamuhaya and A. sierramaestrae and it turns out this was kind of about all of them, but that’s OK! I can change my format like that if I want!

I’m not sure if their tails are prehensile, so if you do, please let me know!

Tag: false chameleon

#DidYouAnole? – Anolis landestoyi

#DidYouAnole? – Anolis barbatus (Chamaeleolis Clade)