Photographs from Jaime Palacio Sierra. We are currently reviewing reptiles from our home department and have doubts on two specimens captured by Jaime. can anyone help us confirm their taxonomic identities?
Colombian caribbean Anolis
Category: Ask the Experts Page 5 of 7
Denizens of the Anole Annals – I need help with my breeding experiment! This summer I am conducting a common garden experiment with Anolis armouri and A. cybotes, two trunk-ground anoles from the Dominican Republic. Things were going pretty well with A. cybotes, but as of late both species have stopped laying. Anolis armouri didn’t lay very much at all in the past month. I have already finessed the dirt moisture in the laying pot and the temperature/humidity conditions are fine. In the interest of getting data, I would like to induce them to lay, perhaps with oxytocin? Does anyone out there have suggestions on what can be used to induce laying? Dosage? Timing? All your advice would be much appreciated!
A 'slug' next to a healthy, freshly laid egg. The scale bars in millimeters.
In December, Rich posted on infertile eggs occasionally produced by anoles, also known as slugs. These eggs are small, yellow, and uncalcified. We have found that females typically lay slugs in different locations than fertile eggs. In our breeding colony, nearly every viable egg is deposited in egg laying substrate (moistened vermiculite in a plastic yogurt container), whereas slugs are found on nearly any surface but these cups, as described in a previous comment by William Baugher.
As our hybridization experiment in distichoids proceeds, it has become clear that these inviable eggs may be an important measure of the success of hybrid matings. There are some really great studies on viable anole eggs in the reproductive biology literature (1, 2, and 3, to name a few), but I have had no luck in finding papers that discuss, or even mention the production of, these inviable eggs. Since the last post on this subject AA readership has gone up and I am hoping that someone out there has some additional information on the phenomenon.
Just a heads up to those who are interested- the Revell Lab successfully placed an order for 10 and 14 foot poles and have been assured delivery around May 7th.
For years I’ve been perplexed by the definition of native because it seems to vary greatly (almost as confusing as the definition of species itself – there are “species” that vary only through geography). Is native a time dependant variable? Does it refer to a pre-Columbian period? (Of course even the term “Native American” is nebulous at best – Kennewick Man).
The reason I bring up this question is that it seems logical to me that Anolis carolinensis originated in the Caribbean, specifically in Cuba. Based on the present day currents through the Florida Straights my guess would be somewhere in western Cuba. If western Cuba is indeed the point of origin, the most likely seed species would be Anolis porcatus. Possibly over hundreds of thousands of years including an ice age, carolinensis adapted to cooler and cooler temperatures and eventually established itself throughout the southeastern United States.
Thom, Sanger, Michele Johnson, and I have been working on a paper on juvenile morphology and behavior in an anole community in Barahona, Dominican Republic. Our only problem is that A. brevirostris juveniles move so fast, we didn’t get any photos while we observed them.
So…does anyone have a photo of an A. brevirostris juvenile? If so, you will of course receive credit for your photo in addition to truckloads of good karma!
In 1923 Thomas Barbour described the species Diaphoranolis brooksi, a species that is currently considered conspecific with Anolis insignis. Apparently, his main reason for recognizing Diaphoranolis as a genus separate from Anolis was the structure of the gular appendage (dewlap), which he judged to be non-extensible. I’m wondering if any of you anolologists who have experience with Anolis insignis have examined the dewlap of that species and can refute or confirm Barbour’s conclusion (or otherwise comment on it). Thanks.
Does anybody have some pictures of wild Anolis smallwoodi or Anolis ricordii that they could send me? If so, please send them to me at wbaugher@nashvillezoo.org. They are for personal use for comparing animals in a collection. Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.
Hello anole enthusiasts!
A friend of mine was in Las Tablas, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, ~1850m and found these guys. They were sleeping on some overhanging roots where the ground had broken off near a cattle pasture. We were wondering about which species they belong to and thought the brilliant people here could help. Thanks!
A holiday quiz- can anyone ID this species? Found in the twilight zone of a cave in a small stream (hint) entering the main cave stream. Isla Bastimentos, Bocas del Toro Province, Panama. Apologies for the picture, one needs a good reason before hand to bring a nice camera into wet and muddy caves.
Has this species been reported from the BDT Archipelago?