Friday, April 13, 2012

Natural History: Anolis carolinensis

This handsome little lizard is an arboreal lizard that roams around all over the Lowcountry. We have seen it numerous times on our field trips, however they are typically too quick for us to catch. They can change colors from brown to green or vice versa, however they aren't as good at this as chameleons are. "Anoles," like many lizards have tail autonomy, allowing for them to lose their tail as a defense mechanism. 
Apart of the family Polychridae, there are more than 250 species within this,  making this the largest genus of lizards in the world. It's plain green hue and a pink throat fan, and its small size overall is what distinguishes it from all other lizards. This guy can be found pretty much anywhere in the South. I've seen one on my trashcan, in my garage, and just roaming around. As mentioned, we've seen a number of them on field trips, I believe at least one on every field trip we've had. They are harmless little guys and will run fast to dodge you, but they are easily spotted and identified and excellent hide-and-NO-seekers.

1 comment:

Allison Welch said...

We've been able to observe the color change on anoles we've caught on a couple of field trips this semester!