I’d like to introduce Selene, a Knight Anole (Anolis equestris), currently residing with me in my home, since July of 2015. I received her and another equestris as already fully grown lizards that summer. The supplier is believes them to have been “6 months to a year” at that time. The other equestris passed during 2017.
Current Specs (Aug 2022):
Length – Snout to Vent – 13cm
Length of Tail – 20cm
Weight – 74g
Until 2019, I had kept Selene in a vertical glass box (she doesn’t like the word “cage”). Since then, she has lived “free range” in and around a window. We kept adding plants and tree limbs until it was necessary to convert the entire space into a habitat.
Selene is currently living in the habitat we constructed for her above a window (top shot in the pic). She seems very happy there and makes no attempt to leave the space. She has basically free feeding as we keep the food bowl stocked daily. She gets water from daily misting and typically drinks right from the tip of the sprayer. I have handled her frequently in the past (2016-2018), but I limit touching to wiggling her tail or tickling her feet anymore since she’s so high up.
We’re under the impression Selene has “ecomorphed” into a purely captive lizard, totally dependent on us. We’re committed now; without realizing it, we did everything we could to modify this lizard’s behavior to our benefit.
We really enjoy Selene and she is definitely part of our home. We have no regrets, she is no burden, but its fair to wonder just how long this commitment is going to continue??
While exploring the grounds of Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens with Janson Jones this past weekend, we extremely fortunately happened upon a large adult male Cuban knight anole (A. equestris) in full displaying swing. Despite the fact that knight anoles have an impressively large dewlap, I have often found this to be a relatively rare event, as large crown-giant species tend to display less than other smaller and more active species. This individual was displaying at a height of ~15 m, just below the fronds of a large Royal Palm (Roystonea regia). We didn’t see any other neighboring knight anoles, so were unsure if this was a directed or passive display series. In all, this lizard performed perhaps 4-5 sets of dewlap displays (each comprising of 4-5 dewlap extensions) before stopping and retreating back into the canopy.
Anoles typically follow a predictable and repeated pattern of display that gradually increases in intensity. Initially, and rather lethargically, an individual will nonchalantly raise its head and extend its dewlap without much extra effort (stage a); described below from Losos (2009).
Adapted from Losos (2009), which itself is adapted from Losos (1985). Aggressive behavior of A. marconoi showing three stages of increasing display intensity – note stage (c) include full body elevation alongside simultaneous tail and dewlap extensions.
This then escalates to include a slight body raise (stage b).
And ultimately results in a dramatic finale – in full display all limbs will be extended to raise both their body from the substrate (in this case the trunk of a palm tree) and elevate their tail (stage c). In the following picture you can see this final stage of displaying where intensity peaks – albeit in this individual with a regenerated (and rather stubby) tail.
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.
In collaboration with the Conservation Biology course taught by Dr. Karen Beard here at Utah State University, where I am a Ph.D. student, I have been involved in gathering life history data on ~400 species of reptiles that have been introduced outside of their native ranges for an analysis of how life history traits (e.g., diet, fecundity, longevity) interact with other factors to influence the likelihood of successful establishment. Appendix A of Fred Kraus’ 2009 book Alien Reptiles and Amphibiansis the source of the species list we are using, and included in this analysis are 26 species of Anolis. This is where you come in.
First, we coded all anoles as (i) sexually-dichromatic, (ii) diurnal, (iii) non-venomous, (iv) oviparous, (v) omnivores that lack (vi) temperature-dependent sex determination and (vii) parthenogenesis. Is anyone aware of any exceptions to these seven generalizations?
Second, we searched for data on clutch size, clutch frequency, incubation time, and longevity. The Anole Classics section of this site and the Biodiversity Heritage Library were particularly useful. After conducting what I feel to be a pretty thorough literature scavenger hunt, I am forced to conclude that some of these data simply do not exist at the species level for all of the species we’re interested in, or are not explicitly stated in a way that is obvious to a non-anole-expert. Of course, there is a lot of literature, including many books that I don’t have access to, and there are also lots of credible observations that don’t get published. I’m hoping that some of the readership here can help fill in at least some of the blanks in the table below. As one member of the team, I did not collect all of the data that are filled in myself, nor have I personally vetted every value, so if you spot an error please do point it out.
Two important points:
Many environmental factors obviously influence the life history parameters of our beloved and wonderfully plastic reptiles, so we appreciate that many of these values would be better represented by ranges and are dependent on latitude, altitude, climate, and many other factors. Where a range is published, we are using its median value.
I should also emphasize that, because of the large size of this study and the diversity of taxa included (ranging in size from giants like Burmese Pythons, Nile Crocodiles, and Aldabra Tortoises to, well, anoles and blindsnakes), it is more important for the data to reflect the relative values of these life history parameters across all anoles (and all reptiles) than it is to specifically and precisely represent all known variation within a given species of anole.
Without further ado (for your enjoyment, and because I know from my own blog that nobody reads posts lacking pictures, I’ve embedded an image of each species):
Species
Median clutch size
Median clutches per year
Incubation time (days)
Maximum longevity (months)
A. aeneus
2
A. baleatus
A.bimaculatus
2
43
84
A. carolinensis
1.15
6
41.5
65
A.chlorocyanus
1
18
A. conspersus
1
A. cristatellus
2.5
18
83
A. cybotes
1
18
45
A. distichus
1
16
45.5
A. equestris
1
1
48
149
A. extremus
A. ferreus
1
18
A. garmani
1.5
18
67
A. grahami
1
A. leachii
A. lineatus
A. lucius
1
3.5
60
A. marmoratus
2
50
A. maynardi
A. porcatus
1
18
63.5
A. pulchellus
1
A. richardii
1
A. sagrei
2
20
32
22
A. stratulus
A. trinitatis
2
50
A. wattsi
1
Thanks in advance. I think this is a great blog and I hope to post something more interesting on here soon.
Shelby Prindaville, Polychrotidae (Heatstack) detail, watercolor and pencil on paper, 30×22″, 2011
My watercolor drawings and figurative sculptures feature a variety of Anolis lizards. The visually fascinating characteristics of anoles combined with their small size yet reptilian “otherness” (occupying a middle ground between too-easily-anthropomorphized mammals and too-alien fish or invertebrates) make anoles an ideal animal representative for my broader ecological interests.
Shelby Prindaville, Anolis proboscis (Pair), watercolor, 3P art medium, and pencil on translucent paper, 16×24″, 2012
The drawings and sculptures I create with anoles use their innate character and abilities to explore a purgatorial space. The first drawing in the watercolor series puts anoles in place of rats in the rat king myth made famous in The Nutcracker; the use of anoles allows a way out of the diseased mass through voluntary autotomy and allegorically demonstrates that repairing environments requires sacrifice. Other drawings pull from subjects ranging from the Ouroboros to Terry Pratchett’s allegory of summer.
Shelby Prindaville, Anolis carolinensis and Mimosa Pudica (Falling), watercolor and pencil on velvet paper, 27×19″, 2012
My desire to sculpt small yet still anatomically accurate anoles has actually led to the development of a new polymer medium: 3P QuickCure Clay. I collaborate with LSU Chemistry Professor John Pojman and his company 3P, and my suggestion to create a clay and its subsequent development has allowed me to use a batch-curing process that achieves the intricately detailed results below.
Shelby Prindaville, Polychrotidae (Dive and Climb), 3P Clay, 4x8x2.5″, 2012
