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Steve Poe writes: “Several island sites are famous among anolologists for harboring multiple sympatric species.  Soroa in Cuba, La Palma in the Dominican Republic, and El Yunque in Puerto Rico each have been well-studied by community ecologists.  But many mainland sites are populated by anole communities that meet or exceed the diversity levels of these island sites.  One such hyperdiverse mainland locality is El Cope in Panama.  Twelve species of Anolis may be collected within 100 meters of the field house at El Cope.

Identification of mainland anoles can be difficult as there are fewer resources available relative to those for anoles in the Caribbean.  We have produced two-panel powerpoint guides for  El Cope that should aid in identification of anoles in and around these sites.”

Small versions are attached below and the full size version can be accessed here (be patient on the download–it’s a big file).

Well, more precisely, anoles are more smarter than you might think than chimps are smarter than you might think, according to the Daily Planet TV that airs on the Canadian Discovery Channel. Yesterday’s episode includeded a segment “Ten Animals that Are Smarter Than You Think” that featured the cognitive abilities of Puerto Rican green anoles (A. evermanni) based on the work of (and showing a video made by) Manuel Leal.

Anolis gingivinus. From http://wordpress.iworklab.com/dcna/bush-and-tree-anoles/

Read all about them in this post from the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (whose logo features an anole!).

From dust tracks on the web.

Janson Jones is on another mini-anole tear over at dust tracks on the web. Today–distichus. Yesterday–sagrei. He’s threatening to switch to snakes. Head over there and demand he run the Floridian anole gamut!

Go to Zazzle’s webpage for the calendar.

Use special code: ZSUPERSALE4U

Remember, turkeys have dewlaps too.

Doctor Anole, Mt. Lemmon, AZ

Among biologists one of the greatest honors is having a species named after them. Among climbers one of the greatest honors is inspiring the name of a new climb. (In fact, much like biology, local ethics and traditions often govern route nomenclature.) It turns out that I have scarred my research has inspired an old friend to name a new route with reference of our favorite scaly beasts. Here I present you, “Doctor Anole” at the Lizard Boulders, Mt. Lemmon, AZ.

Because climbing can, to some, seem a bit esoteric let me take a moment to explain the photo. Unlike climbing mountains or large cliffs, “bouldering” is a form of climbing where a person attempts to climb for only a few moves, but where each move may be at the absolute limit of their ability. Bouldering can just be a single move or, to the most brave, reach death defying heights while rope-free. On Doctor Anole the goal is to climb to the top of this boulder using the small seam for handholds. A pad is also placed below the climb to cushion a potential fall. Hopefully the moderate grade of V2 does not directly reflect my friend’s opinion of my climbing abilities or research.

You voted for the photos, now get the calendar featuring  fabulous photographs of 12 anole species taken by eight different anole photographers. A great stocking stuffer! On sale today at Zazzle.com. A share of all proceeds go to a worthy cause–specifically, buying calendars for next year’s photo contest winners.

Watch the cuban documentary: ANOLIS: VIGILANTES DE DÍA

In the year 2010, a group of students from the International School of Film and Television from San Antonio de los Baños, Cuba, made a film: “Anolis: Vigilantes of the Day,” an excellent documentary of nine minutes about Cuban anoles. The documentary is narrated in Spanish and has the best aspects of the natural history of these lizards, including some ecomorphs and the use of the dewlap in displays.