Category: New Research

Photo of A. schwartzi copyright J. Losos.

This post is for those of you who might not be regular readers of Amphibia-Reptilia.  Last summer, Joyce et al. reported on habitat mediated variation in size, population density and mating system in the St. Eustatius (Lesser Antilles) anole A. schwartzi.  Joyce et al. quantified body size, density, and frequency of display behaviors in populations of A. schwartzi occupying habitats with and without available rocky substrates.  They found denser populations of larger individuals that tend to display more frequently occupying rocky substrates.  Their results suggest that the mating system and intensity of competition for mates varies among habitats in a predictable manner.  This article is another in a long string of valuable contributions from Bob Powell’s REU courses.

Köhler & Vesely begin their recent Herpetologica paper [doi link] on the Central American anole Anolis sericeus with a quote from the famous West Indian herpetologist Thomas Barbour (1932), who suggested that it was ‘‘a wicked and sinful affection to describe more anoles.’’  Undaunted, Köhler & Vesely go on to elevate two species from within the widespread Anolis sericeus based on differences in scalation, dewlap size and hemipenal morphology.  It’s a shame their photos are published in black and white because A. sericeus and its relatives have one of the prettiest dewlaps you’re ever going to see (this crappy photo I took in Belize a few years back really does them little justice).  The diagnostic features that Köhler & Vesel report are compelling, and provide another exciting example of morphologically cryptic species in a widespread anole species.