All Posts – Page 149 – Anole Annals

Over at strange behaviors, Richard Conniff has posted an interesting memorial list:

The list sets out to honor naturalists who have lost their lives in the field or during other natural history pursuits. A lot of sad stories behind the names here, but a lot of epic ones too. I would bet that a great many of these fallen naturalists died doing what they loved best.

One of the names on the list is Ken Miyata, a young anole biologist who passed away in 1983. Ken was a student of Ernest Williams at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology in the late 70s (Ph.D. 1980), and he conducted fantastic work on anoles and other reptiles and amphibians, primarily in Ecuador. Although many of us probably know him for the mark he made on tropical herpetology during his brief career, Ken was much better known as a world-class fly fisherman, and it was that passion that ultimately killed him (see a brief retrospective here; see also these recent mentions of Ken by his old friends Jerry Coyne and Greg Mayer on the blog Why Evolution is True).

A name that’s missing from this wall is Preston Webster, another seminal anole biologist who died too young in a 1975 car crash. You can suggest additions to Conniff’s list in the comments of that blog, and he’ll add them. Does anyone who knew Webster want to put a few words on this site? I know very little about the man, but if there aren’t any takers, I’ll try to add him in a couple of days. I believe Webster was in the Dakotas when he died, and I don’t know if he was engaged in any ‘naturalist’s pursuits’ at the time (certainly not on anoles!). But this probably doesn’t matter – there are other great biologists on the list who died early in unrelated accidents.

There are several other herpetologists mentioned. Are there any other anole biologists missing from the list?

Norops’ last stand?

By Jonathan Losos

On January 7, 2011

In All Posts, Notes from the Field

In the mid-1980’s, Guyer and Savage proposed dividing Anolis into five genera. This proposal has mostly been rejected by the anole community, for reasons detailed in Poe (2004), Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree and the Wikipedia Norops page. The main reason is that although Guyer and Savage’s proposed genus Norops is monophyletic, all of the other proposed genera are not. Moreover, given the uncertainty that still exists about relationships at the base of the anole tree, sundering anoles into well-supported monophyletic subclades is still not possible. Finally, in Guyer and Savage’s initial paper, Anolis sensu lato was found to be monophyletic—so why bother? Even though we now know that Chamaeleolis, Chamaelinorops, and Phenacosaurus arose from within Anolis, it is much simpler to sink these genera into Anolis rather than to try to break anoles into umpteen different genera—many poorly supported.

Despite these points, and the general support for retention of an unsullied Anolis, support for Norops has one last redoubt, in Central America, and with particular strength in Costa Rica. There, the use of Norops is nearly ubiquitous, as evident in the Reptiles of Costa Rica flashcard pictured above (and for sale throughout the country).

Green Anole Escapes from Circus (ca. 1920)

By lukemahler

On December 16, 2010

In All Posts, Anole Annals Trivia

If you spend much time at all in the collections of a natural history museum, you’re guaranteed to come across some weird and hilarious stuff (e.g., see this book). Here’s a gem of a specimen label – this is a green anole skeleton from the Smithsonian (photo and “discovery” by Thom Sanger).

The collecting remarks seem odd enough that I figured it might be an inside joke. But Thom found the following question posted on the Circus History Message Board, which probably explains everything.…

“I have a somewhat of a bizarre question. My aunt, who is in her late 70’s, told my husband and I a story about when she went to the circus a child. My Aunt told us that when she was little girl her mother would buy her a little lizard that was attached a chain that was then attached to a pin. The pin would be worn and the lizard would walk around you until it died.”

The message board has replies from many old-time circus-goers confirming that Anolis carolinensis were indeed tied to strings and peddled to kids at the circus. According to one poster, the lizards were called “bugs” and the peddlers “bug men.” (!?!?)

“Jennifer, the lizards (which have been called chameleons) were known as “bugs” and the sellers on the midway were known as “bug men”. The pitchman would pin a “bug” on his lapel to be viewed as harmless and he carried the “bugs” for sale mounted on a board. Unfortunately the “bugs” didn’t last too long after leaving the circus grounds but kids loved them. John Goodall”

Thanksgiving in South Carolina – Complete with Anoles!

By Melissa Aja

On December 3, 2010

In All Posts

My parents have Anolis carolinensis living in their mums. This picture was taken in the spring, but they’re still in her potted plants in November, just cold and hunkered down.

Hypovitaminosis A in Captive Anole Colony?

By Rich Glor

On November 22, 2010

In All Posts

A bunch of our young captive born anoles are coming down with an illness that results in swollen eyes, blindness, inability to feed, and, ultimately, death. The material that is causing the eyes to swell does not appear to be retained shed, but rather a membranous mass that gradually expands to cover the entire eye. We sent some animals off for necropsy and the preliminary results indicate hypovitaminosis A. At least one published study identifies this condition in captive green anoles, although the symptoms reported in that case were more widespread [pdf link]. We feed our anoles two types of crickets: Acheta and Gryllodes. The crickets, in turn, are fed chicken mash and limited quantities of fresh vegetables. We also dust our crickets with a calcium + D3 supplement during 2/3 of their weekly feedings. We’ve been housing hundreds of adult anoles on this feeding regimen for the last few years without trouble (the putative hypoviaminosis A is cropping up only in our 6-8 month old juveniles). We’re going to add a multivitamin to our dusting routine and will begin supplementing crickets with more fresh vegetables (including things high in vitamin A like sweet potatoes), but we’re also wondering if anyone else has had experience with hypovitaminosis A in anoles. We’re particularly interested to know how treatable the condition is once diagnosed and whether it results strictly from a dietary deficiency or if other aspects of the animals environment may be contributing.

Anole Fight

By Rich Glor

On November 13, 2010

In All Posts

This video was filmed near Bayahibe in the Dominican Republic in the summer of 2010. You’ll probably enjoy this video more with the sound turned off, I get pretty excited providing color commentary and use at least one naughty word.