On March 24, 2015 my herpetology class and I had the pleasure of taking a field trip to Dixie Plantation to do some herping. Upon arrival, I was excited due to the layout of the land giving us a good opportunity to see some cool herps. I unfortunately chose waders that had a hole in them, so I didn't get to venture very deep into the wetlands and was restricted to anything above shin-deep. Thus snakes and lizards were my primary "herp-goal" of the day.
Not very long into the field trip I was walking in the moist woods and I saw a Carolina (or Green) anole, Anolis carolinensis, scurrying away from me on a tree limb, which is the typical habitat A. carolinenesis can be found on/in. I gently gathered it up and noticed its large red dulap which is a characteristic of a male A. carolinensis. It wasn't terribly large for anoles, which can grow up to 8 inches long, as it was only about 6 inches, indicating that it was still a relatively young male. He was also not very active other than when he tried to get away from me upon capturing.
Anolis carolinensis is my favorite lizard we have locally here South Carolina, so having the opportunity to see one, yet alone capture one on a field trip, was quite the experience. It amazed me how the young male I caught went from a deep brown to blend in with the tree bark I found him on, to a bright and vibrant green after having him in my hands for some time. Such color change shows the adaptive ability these lizards have in nature. In all, the experience was great and I plan on going back to Dixie Plantation to catch more herps and enjoy the amazing herp habitats that it has to offer!
-BD
1 comment:
The color change is amazing!
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