Anole Annals

Photo of S. arenicolus by Michael T. Hill from a U. S. Fish and Wildlife handout: http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/newmexico/documents/Dunes_Sagebrush_Lizards_Handout.pdf

An article in Wednesday’s NY Times reported mixed results from efforts to conserve the rare dunes sagebrush lizard (Sceloporus arenicolus [formerly S. graciosus arenicolus]). Politics and oil interests are keeping the species off the endangered species list, but the Obama administration has reached a “conservation agreement” that ensures protection for most of the species’s range. For those interested in delving into the science underlying this story in a bit more detail, some recent peer-reviewed work on this species address the impact of oil and gas development on lizard populations (Smolensky & Fitzgerald 2011), the effectiveness of alternative sampling strategies (Smolensky & Fitzgerald 2010), and genetic diversity within and among populations (Chan et al. 2009). Smolensky and Fitzgeralds (2011) study of lizard abundances across a variable landscape paints a complicated picture suggesting that several different landscape variables likely impact the lizards, but they surely delighted the oil and gas industry with the following quote: “we did not find clear statistical evidence to support our hypotheses that oil and gas development at our study sites had a direct negative effect on quantity of habitat, quality of habitat, and populations of lizards. ” Chan et al.’s (2009) study of genetic diversity finds evidence for geographic genetic differentiation of some populations, but does not detect differentiation among individual sand dune blowouts. In any event, it’s not every day that our favorite type of critter makes it into the newspaper of record!

Isabella Rossellini Has A Thing For Anoles Doing It

By Jonathan Losos

On June 14, 2012

In Anole Art, Literature, and Humor

Who knew that anoles were porn stars?

Actress Isabella Rosselini has become even more famous in recent years for a series of short films about animal sex, entitled Green Porno. The films are wacky and educational, and in them she acts out the mating behavior of various creatures, often in graphic, albeit artistic, detail. The award-winning series has gone through three seasons and airs on the Sundance channel (for more details, see the Wikipedia entry or the Green Porno website link above).

Along with the films, a book has been produced and, most importantly to us, a website is mantained. And yesterday, June 13th, that site has seen fit to feature anoles getting it on for the second time in their last five posts (see also May 13th). Be forewarned–the site is not PG-rated!

With Richard Branson blogging on anoles two weeks ago and now Isabella delving into their private lives, it’s clear that anoles have become the lizard of choice for the rich and famous.

Sensory Ecology of the Third Eye

By Ashli Moore

On June 14, 2012

In New Research

A while back in the Annals, I introduced the mysterious (but not mythical) third eye, made even more peculiar by unexpected findings in the Anolis pineal gland (Moore & Menaker 2011). In a later post, I discussed non-visual photoreception—responses to light that do not require image formation—along with some recent evidence that such responses may be tuned to photic habitat in Anolis (Moore et al. 2012). Now I’m connecting the dots: non-visual photoreception in the Anolis pineal gland appears to be adapted to photic habitat (Moore & Menaker 2012).

The pineal gland can’t be seen externally, but it’s just posterior to the parietal eye (tiny circle in the middle) and right underneath the surface of the skull. Photo credit: TheAlphaWolf, License:Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported

Anolis Gadovi? Or A. Taylori? iNaturalist Needs Your Help

By Jonathan Losos

On June 13, 2012

In Anole Photographs

Anolis gadovi, taylori or something else?

We’ve discussed iNaturalist before. It’s an on-line community for naturalists where you can “record what you see in nature, meet other nature lovers, and learn about the natural world.” In fact, if you go to AA‘s Citizen Science page, you can see recent iNaturalist anole observations, and you can add your own observations there as well. Get to it!

This photograph was uploaded to iNaturalist today, snapped at Jardín Botánico de Acapulco Esther Pliego de Salinas in Acapulco. Speculation abounds that it’s either A. taylori or A. gadovi. Can anyone out there confirm the identity of this beauty?

Is There An Alien Invasion In Taiwan?

By Gerrut Norval

On June 13, 2012

In Anole Annals Trivia

The Anolis carolinensis observed in Chiayi County, Taiwan, on the trunk of an Areca catechu.

Currently, the list of exotic invasive herpetofauna in Taiwan is fairly short:

brown anole (Anolis sagrei)

sun skink (Eutropis multifasciata)

common slider (Trachemys scripta elegans)

American bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)

Asiatic painted frog (Kaloula pulchra pulchra)

Hong Kong whipping frog (Polypedates megacephalus)

But if the list of species permitted in the pet trade in Taiwan is not revised, and drastic steps are not taken to prevent future accidental and/or intentional introductions of exotic invasive amphibians and reptiles, that is sure to change.

There are already anecdotal accounts of green iguanas (Iguana iguana) and water dragons (Physignathus lesueurii) in the wild, and in 2011 we reported on some tokay geckoes (Gekko gecko) that we found in the wild in central western Taiwan. Earlier this year when we reported on a green anole (Anolis carolinensis) that we found in 2002 in a rural area of Chiayi County, southwestern Taiwan, we added another species to the list of species that have been recorded in the wild.

The discovery of these lizards in the wild in Taiwan is alarming. If suitable numbers of these animals are released into the wild, they very likely will establish viable populations in Taiwan.

Lizard Versus Bobcat

By Rich Glor

On June 12, 2012

In Natural History Observations

This video doesn’t involve anoles, but contains some of the coolest lizard footage I’ve seen for a while. You may have seen video of horned lizards (Phrynosoma) squirting blood from their eyes to deter predation by dogs, but this seems to be the first video of them using the same strategy on a bobcat. Perhaps not surprisingly, Wade Sherbrooke is responsible for setting this up for National Geographic.

The Gray-Dewlapped Anole: Anolis Carolinensis Seminolus

By Jonathan Losos

On June 11, 2012

In Classics from the Literature

Head variation in Anolis carolinensis. From T. Vance (1991).

There was some talk a while back about the fabled gray-dewlapped anole of Florida (and, according to the comments, elsewhere). Amidst this discussion, one commenter referred to it as Anolis carolinensis seminolus. Many of us, even experienced anole hands, were unaware that A. carolinensis had subspecies. After a little bit of poking around, we’ve discovered the answer. Indeed, there are described subspecies. Thomas Vance, in a paper in the Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society in 1991 described the gray-dewlapped form as A. c. seminolus, relegating the rest of the species to A. c. carolinensis. The paper, which can be downloaded here, is not as overwhelming as its 47-page length might imply. There’s a nice discussion of the history of the species name A. carolinensis (turns out that it’s quite a confusing trail of names), followed by a detailed comparison of morphological variation, focusing primarily on scale characters and based on the examination of nearly a thousand specimens. There’s a lot of molecular phylogeographic work on carolinensis in the works right now, and it’ll be interesting to see how the genetic data square with Vance’s taxonomy (my guess: not so well). More generally, it’s surprising how little work on variation in this species has been conducted. For anyone interested in this fascinating and underappreciated lizard, this paper is worth a look.

Name That Anole, French-Style

By Jonathan Losos

On June 10, 2012

In All Posts

Anoland has a name-that-anole quiz. Here are the instructions, translated from French by an internet website: “Salvation to all, this is a new quiz. For each species a photo of the male as well as of the female (interesting to see the fanon and the difference of the latter as a function of sex) some very simple, others quite harsh.”

Snail Crunching Anoles

By Jonathan Losos

On June 9, 2012

In Natural History Observations

Photos by Veronika Holanova

Veronika Holáňová of Charles University in Prague not only studies anoles, but she breeds them in great quantities, including these wonderful Chamaeleolis. The “false chameleons” as they are called are renowned for specializing on eating snails as adults, and here are some of Veronika’s photos of them in the act.

Anole – Skink Interaction In Taiwan

By Jonathan Losos

On June 8, 2012

In New Research

The elegant skink, Plestiodon elegans, in Taiwan. Photo by Gerrut Norval

Most community ecology studies involving anoles focus on interactions between anole species. This is not surprising, because in the Caribbean, anoles are extraordinarily abundant and most of their ecological interactions are, indeed, with other anoles. Less studied are interactions with other taxa, the exception being predator-prey interactions, such as those with curly-tailed lizards (discussed many times in these pages, most recently here).

One widespread group of lizards are skinks, the most species rich family of lizards. There are few reports of anole-skink interactions, probably in large part due to the fact that skink diversity in the Caribbean is relatively low, and many species have been extirpated by human agents. However, anoles have been introduced to places around the world where skinks are more abundant, and some reports of interactions have been made. For example, in the Ogasawara Islands of Japan, A. carolinensis has reached high population densities and has been implicated in the decline of the native skink.

Gerrut Norval has been studying the introduced populations of A. sagrei in Taiwan. He now reports an observation of a somewhat odd interaction between a brown anole and a skink in which the anole fell to the ground from a utility pole and then was quickly chased back up the pole by an elegant skink, Plesiodon elegans. Given the relative size of the two lizards, attempted predation was probably not the cause. Gerrut speculates that this is an example of interspecific territoriality, transcending lizard family lines.

In Taiwan, A. sagrei reaches high population densities (as it does just about everywhere it occurs)–possibly cause for alarm for the native herpetofauna. Norval also mentions some intriguing preliminary observations: A. sagrei seems to attain smaller sizes at sites where it co-occurs with other lizard species. Interesting! Hopefully, we’ll hear more from Gerrut soon on this provocative possibility.