Anole Annals

Flossless in Saint Louis. What has become of Reach (non-mint) waxed floss?

There’s been a lot of talk recently about the inability to get top-of-the-line noosing poles, but another lizard catching crisis hasn’t yet received attention. Right-thinking anolologists agree that dental floss is the preferred lasso-making material, but not all floss is the same. As discussed in a previous post, there are definite differences in quality, at least with regard to lizard-catching potential.

In particular, Johnson & Johnson’s Reach © brand waxed floss is the premium lariat string, yet in my experience, it has become harder and harder to find as many stores (e.g., CVS, Walgreens) are stocking inferior store brands and, for some reason, mint-flavored products.

This situation hit its nadir just this weekend, when I was unable to find Reach waxed floss in numerous St. Louis apothecaries and groceries, nor in an outlet in DC. Where the heck is it? Are other herpetologists hoarding it in fear of another Cabela’s-style debacle? I don’t know, but I’ve been forced to pack Walgreens brand stock on my upcoming expedition. I guess it’s only fair to give the little guy’s a chance, but you can bet I’ll be cursing Wallie’s finest every time a lizard flips out of my noose.

Anole Classics: Ray Huey (1974) on the Cost of Behavioral Thermoregulation (or, What’s the Deal with Thermoconformity?)

By Alex Gunderson

On April 30, 2012

In Classics from the Literature

A male Anolis cristatellus from Puerto Rico. Photo by Dave Steinberg.

It is somewhat intuitive to assume that the body temperatures of “cold-blooded” animals like anoles must closely match ambient temperatures. For example, lizards from cold climates should be active at colder body temperatures than those from warm climates, and body temperature should change throughout the day in concert with air temperature. As Martha Muñoz has discussed, Cowles and Bogert laid this expectation to rest in 1944. They demonstrated that lizards can behaviorally thermoregulate, altering the effective thermal environment that they experience to remain within a “preferred” temperature range while active.

The potential benefits of behavioral thermoregulation are pretty obvious. Seek out a little sunlight on a cold day and you can go from freezing your hemi-penes off to enjoying a fulfilling day of doing whatever a lizard might find fulfilling. So for many years after Cowles and Bogert, observing patterns consistent with behavioral thermoregulation became the expectation.

Anole Glass Figurine

By Jonathan Losos

On April 29, 2012

In Anoles in Commerce

Only $4.99, available from Amazon.

Male-Male Interactions in Anolis maynardi

By Pat Shipman

On April 29, 2012

In Natural History Observations, Notes from the Field

Bright green male who won the fightAn instantaneous color change for the loser.

Two adult male A. maynardi were sitting on a flat tile deck about 6 inches apart with dewlaps exposed and head crests up. There was much head bobbing and they showed their bright yellow dewlaps by turning their heads sideways. Then fast wrestling occurred – It looked like they were using their mouths to bite each other — with the participants separating briefly before repeating the wrestling, during which they turned each other over and over. We (humans) may have precipitated the end of this bout by opening a door to get a camera, but one male ran off the deck down the vertical wall and the other stayed to watch. At this point a small female ran between the two towards the male nearest the deck. After 10 minutes the male that moved off first is sitting on a hand rail and has changed to his dark color, while the other male remains on a step still bright green.

Also: a brief note on nocturnal feeding. We had our first decent rain of the season on the 24th April and on coming home at about 8.30 pm, a large cosmopolitan gecko and a male A. maynardi were sharing the same wall and feeding on insects attracted to the outdoor lights.

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The Helminth Parasites Of Anoles

By Jonathan Losos

On April 28, 2012

In New Research

Ok, not a parasitic worm of anoles, but it got your attention! Photo from http://childhealthproblems.com/images/head-of-helminth.jpg

In a gargantuan recent paper in Comparative Parasitology, Bursey, Goldberg, Telford and Vitt report new data for 13 Central American anoles and summarize what is known about helminths through all of anoledom. Before getting into the details, though, it may help some of our readers to explain what a helminth is. In short, helminths are parasitic worms, such as nematodes, flukes, and tapeworms; anoles—and many other animals—are commonly infested with them.

Prior to this study, helminths had only been reported in 10 Central American anoles. However, taking advantage of the collections of Telford and Vitt, dating back to late 1950’s, the researchers examined 426 anoles of 13 species, basically opening up museum specimens to see what surprises awaited. The result was 1026 parasites found in 173 of the specimens.

Cabelas Noose Poles are back

By Graham Reynolds

On April 27, 2012

In Ask the Experts, Research Methods

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.

The Great Anole Photo That Got Away

By Jonathan Losos

On April 27, 2012

In Anole Art, Literature, and Humor

Reader Mona G writes: “I like to watch anoles in my garden in the Florida Keys where they are ubiquitous. I also take photos of them. I wanted to tell a funny story about one of my photo shoots. This took place a few years before digital cameras were invented. The days of using film! I had a very large, long and heavy zoom lens. It was summertime and very hot. I sat in one spot observing a large anole doing what they do when another anole comes into their territory. He used his dewlap often and the sunlight was lighting it up making it so beautiful. It appeared to be all shades of red,yellow, orange and hot pink. It is not easy to catch that dewlap moment. So I sat sweating profusely and eventually aching from being tensed up into certain postures to get certain angles. I was so excited about the photos I was sure I would have at least 3 or 4 perfect pix out of my roll of 36. I prepared to take them directly to be processed. As I started to rewind the film back into it’s canister… something didn’t feel right. I thought “oh no. The film has gone too far and has detached from the can.” NO that was not the problem..the problem was that there was NO FILM in my %&^^&*&^%#!!! camera…I LOVE DIGITAL!! Anyone have any stories like this to share? Also about this chameleon pix..is this a pet? Or is it in nature? I hope someone enjoyed my story. I STILL take anole pix very often. They are always interesting to observe. I often leave a banana peel on a table and they come to eat the fruit flies. They seem to be familiar with me. Not tame but more relaxed in my presence as time goes by. I have also become familiar with certain lizards who live in a certain area. They definitely have there own home turf. Thanks for reading. I am attaching a recent night shot. This anole sleeps in the same area every night. I woke him up and you can see he is not very happy about it!

Introduced Green Anole In the Cayman Islands, But Which Species?

By Jonathan Losos

On April 26, 2012

In Introduced Anoles

Green anole recently captured on Grand Cayman

This fella was caught a week and a half ago near North Side fire station, Grand Cayman. It’s the first green anole found outside the capital, Georgetown. The question: what is it? Anolis carolinensis? Anolis porcatus? Something else?

In fact, I frequently get asked whether a particular green anole is carolinensis or porcatus. Some people say they can tell them apart. I’m not so sure.

Pure Amazement

By Thomas Sanger

On April 25, 2012

In Anole Art, Literature, and Humor, Education and Anoles

As anole specialists we sometimes overlook how exciting our animals can be to other biologists and the general public. After returning to campus with a male Anolis equestris yesterday the people on my floor were amazed by this animal (granted they work on fruit flies). Photos were taken and shared with friends. While we would likely default to using cut and dry adjectives to describe most lizards, I think that the quote below demonstrates well the emotions that a non-scientist feels when observing a giant green lizard.

“OMFG! Is it just me or is that a freaking gorgeous animal? Look underneath it’s feet, the rubber part of the toes! aww. I cant get over it’s chin..Why do Lizards have that elongated loose neck…what is it called and is it used for digesting food? Your camera takes great photos. squishy and i wanna kissy. 🙂
Ok I’ll stop”

Thanks to Didem Sarikaya for passing this along. Didem’s photo is below.

New AA Challenge: How many species in a single photo?

By Thomas Sanger

On April 25, 2012

In All Posts

Several community challenges have emerged on Anole Annals in recent years such as the popular “Spot the anole” series (here, here, and here for example). Today I raise a new challenge to anole enthusiasts worldwide. I challenge you to post a single photo of anoles in the wild with the greatest species diversity. Integrity counts: photos and lizards should not be manipulated. The lizards should have naturally come into close proximity on their own volition.

To start this out I will set the bar to beat at three species. I took this photo last weekend at the University of Miami arboretum. The three species, from left to right, are A. distichus, A. carolinensis, and A. sagrei. I expect that three should be relatively easy to beat so lets see what you’ve got!