Anole Annals

And here’ s more information on these classic prints. The webpage of the NYPL Digital Gallery proclaims that it “is The New York Public Library’s image database, developed to provide free and open online access to hundreds of thousands of images from the original and rare holdings of The Library. Spanning a wide range of historical eras, geography, and visual media, NYPL Digital Gallery offers digital images of drawings, illuminated manuscripts, maps, photographs, posters, prints, rare illustrated books, and more. Encompassing the subject strengths of the vast collections of The Library, these materials represent the applied sciences, fine and decorative arts, history, performing arts, and social sciences.”

Most importantly, of course, these holdings include classic paintings of anoles, including those by Catesby and others. For example, searching using the term “Anolis” yields 12 paintings, including those of A. carolinensis, A. cuvieri, A. sagrei and others. Be forewarned that they are categorized by the name used in their original source. Holbrook’s drawings from North American Herpetology were just added (thanks to CNAH for bringing this to AA’s attention), but our beloved North American green is categorized as Anolius carolinensis.

And for those of you who’ve already begun your holiday shopping, prints of these images are available at a reasonable cost.

Get Your Own Copy of a Classic Anole Illustration

By Rich Glor

On November 16, 2011

In All Posts

When its not trying to kill off distinguished herpetologists, the Center for North American Herpetology’s (CNAH‘s) mailing list is a great way to keep abreast of all kinds of herp related news. Today, the CNAH’s list called attention to the fact that the New York Public Library is selling reproductions of classic prints from Holbrook‘s North American Herpetology. Included among Holbrook’s plates is a rendering of Anolius Carolinensis that would look excellent on any good anolologist’s wall! The prints being offered by the NY Public Library appear to be from the second edition published in 1842. I’m not sure if the same print appeared in the first edition, or even which volume the anole was originally in; Holbrook famously recalled and burned many copies of the first edition in a bonfire at his house due to problems with the plates and with the organization of species accounts. It looks like an 8 x 10″ Anolius Carolinensis print will set you back around $35. Alternatively, you could get a facsimile of the whole edition for $70 from the SSAR!

Amazing Research Opportunity for Young Anole Aficionados

By Rich Glor

On November 15, 2011

In Anoles and Anolologists in the News, Education and Anoles

Anolis smaragdinus is one of the species that participants in Bob Powell's REU program are likely to encounter on their trip to Eleuthera this Summer. Photo by Jonathan Losos

Are you an undergraduate student with dreams of traveling to the Caribbean to study lizards? If so, your dream could be realized through the NSF-funded Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program organized by Bob Powell at Avila University. Now in its 10th iteration, Bob’s program has provided nearly 100 students with opportunities to conduct research in places like the Dominican Republic, Anguilla, Grenada, St. Eustatius, St. Vincent, Dominica and the Grenadines. I can tell you from personal experience – I was a participant in 1995 – that Bob’s program is among the best of its kind. Students in Bob’s REU get a complete research experience, from personal instruction on how to find and read the primary literature to supervised preparation of research for publication. Just about everyone who participates in Bob’s program comes out with one or more publications. This summer’s REU will involve field work on the Bahamian island of Eleuthera, which is home to four species of anoles! Applications are due by February 15th.

Anoles in the New York Times

By Jonathan Losos

On November 14, 2011

In Anoles and Anolologists in the News

Caption: "Flora and fauna abound."

The Travel section of the NYT recently featured Caribbean getaways and, of course, anoles were a criteria for choosing which destinations to feature. This isn’t a tough one, but can anyone identify this agave-loving anole?

More on Anoles Playing Dead, and a Lizard That Loves Watermelon

By Jonathan Losos

On November 13, 2011

In Natural History Observations

In response to recent discussion of dead-playing anoles, AA‘s French connection Ludovic recently brought to our attention a video of an A. coelestinus doing the same, while floating in a sink.

And as an extra treat, Youtube then directed the alert viewer to a bonus track of what appears to be a fuzzy A. stratulus going to town on a slice of watermelon.

Evolution of a Lizard Room, Part IV: Crickets

By Julienne Ng

On November 12, 2011

In Research Methods

Left: Tubs used to house crickets. Right: The set up inside a cricket tub.

To continue our series on lab anole husbandry, let’s talk food! We feed our room full of hungry anoles Acheta crickets ordered from Fluker Farms. We house crickets in 21-gallon plastic tubs (bought from places like Target or Home Depot) that have been modified for ventilation – we cut holes in the lids and glue wire screen on top. We provide egg layer mash for food, water crystals (usually used for plants) on a small deli cup lid for water, and egg crates to give them places to hide.

Fake Amber Lizards

By Jonathan Losos

On November 11, 2011

In Anoles in Commerce

Anole in amber--but how old?

The fossil record of anoles is disappointingly small. Other than very young (a few thousand years old) fossils found in caves, where owls and other predators may have left them, only four full-fledged fossils are known from the scientific literature. All are lizards preserved in amber, approximately 20 million years old (give or take a few million). Here’s a picture of one here.

But there are a lot more in private hands. The problem, however, is Jurassic Park. Remember how the mad scientists got their dinosaur DNA? They extracted it from mosquitoes entombed in amber. And where did the amber come from? Perhaps you recall the scene of the lawyer (later justifiably devoured by T. rex) getting off a river raft to purchase some amber. Where? The Dominican Republic. And it turns out that those amber mines do exist, only their deposits date to the Miocene, not the Cretaceous. And, more importantly, as well as skeeters and other invertebrates, occasionally an anole-laden piece of amber emerges from these mines.

Anolis equestris potior (Blue Beauty)

By Ludovic Deutsch

On November 9, 2011

In All Posts

Photo by Luis Diaz.

By browsing a PDF showing the amphibians and reptiles of Cuba, I found a picture of a beautiful anole:
Anolis equestris potior.

After doing some research, I was able to find very little info about it. It was described in 1975 by Schwartz and Thomas and lives only on Cayo Santa Maria (province Villa Clara)! It would take on the beautiful blue color during stress or “emotion,” just as some other species of anoles take on a dark phase.

SICB 2012 Chocked Full of Anoles

By Thomas Sanger

On November 8, 2011

In All Posts, New Research

The schedule for the 2012 meeting of the Society of Integrative and Comparative Biology was recently published and anole enthusiasts will not be disappointed. A key word search of “Anolis” yields 26 presentations, 7 posters and 19 talks! Topics range widely including presentations on the ecology, behavior, development, and genomics of anoles.

Help Identify a Colombian Anole

By Jonathan Losos

On November 7, 2011

In All Posts

Ken Miyata photographed these anoles about 30 years ago. All we know is that they are from Colombia. Can anyone help?