Anole Adventures in the Cayman Islands

A sagrei on bluff - Cayman Brac NH

A. sagrei on Cayman Brac.

As part of an ongoing study of Anolis sagrei, recently posted about here with additional links therein, I had the pleasure of joining Anthony Geneva and Shea Lambert on a trip to Cayman Brac. We later met up with Graham Reynolds and his undergraduate student Amy Castle on Little Cayman, and closed the trip out with two days on Grand Cayman. Spending time on all three Cayman Islands was a real treat, in large part because of visually stunning anoles like Anolis conspersus and Anolis maynardi. These two species have received a lot of attention on Anole Annals. Rather than rewrite what’s already been written, I’ve decided just to share some pictures from the team. If you’d like to learn more, click on the species names above and explore to your heart’s content. Enjoy!

A conspersus - hotel NH

A. conspersus on Grand Cayman.

A maynardi - Little Cayman SL

A. maynardi on Little Cayman. Photo by Shea Lambert.

Check out the amazing variation in A. conspersus body color and dewlap color across Grand Cayman! Read more about it here.

A conspersus - hotel SL

Male near our hotel on the upper west side of the island. Photo by Shea Lambert.

Male on the eastern edge of the island. Photo by Anthony Geneva.

A conspersus -botanical garden SL

Male in the Botanical Gardens. Photo by Shea Lambert.

Here are some more A. maynardi, looking schnoz-tastic as usual.

A maynardi - Cayman Brac NH

A. maynardi on Cayman Brac, where it is introduced.

A maynardi mating - Cayman Brac SL

A. maynardi mating on Cayman Brac.

Even though they eat anoles, curly-tailed lizards are pretty fun to watch. Here are some photos of Leiocephalus carinatus.

L carinatus by hotel - Grand Cayman NH

Looking good on a stoop behind the hotel on Grand Cayman.

L carinatus by ocean - Cayman Brac SL

This one thinks it’s in a Corona commercial. Photo by Shea Lambert.

There are three species of iguana on the Cayman Islands, two endemic (Cyclura caymanensis and Cyclura lewisi) and one introduced (Iguana iguana).

Cyclura nubila caymanensis - Little Cayman NH

Cyclura caymanensis on Little Cayman.

C lewisi - Grand Cayman NH

Cyclura lewisi, the blue iguana, on Grand Cayman.

Last but certainly not least, a big shout out to the team for such an awesome trip! Special shout out to Amy who caught her first anole on Little Cayman.

From left to right: Nick Herrmann, Anthony Geneva, Shea Lambert, Graham Reynolds, and Amy Castle.

From left to right: Nick Herrmann, Anthony Geneva, Shea Lambert, Graham Reynolds, and Amy Castle.

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5 Comments

  1. Great! Not an anole, but C. lewisi is named for C. Bernard Lewis, my great mentor back in 1957 when he was Director of the Institute of Jamaica…. Ah, the memories…. Skip

  2. Ambika Kamath

    That Cyclura is tagged! Any idea what for?

  3. Bob Powell

    All of the Caymanian iguanas have been subjects of ongoing population studies and many, especially the older adults, are tagged.

  4. Nick Herrmann

    Bob’s right. There’s a group from Mississippi State working on Little Cayman at the moment.

    http://www.msstate.edu/state-spotlight/2016/06/cayman-islands-iguana-research/

    • Joshua Hall

      I would love to get my hands on 3.3 Anolis conspersus lewisi …. no luck…. thanks for always posting this awesome stuff of anoles and wildlife.

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