The Green Anole is a stunning species of lizard that has vibrant coloration and stays quite small.
They are an arboreal species, spending most of their time in trees and are native to the South-Eastern United States.
However, these lizards have also been introduced into other places including many Caribbean and Pacific Islands.
Other names for the Green Anole are the Carolina Anole, American Anole and the Red-Throated Anole.
Green Anole Taxonomy
In the Animal Kingdom, Taxonomy is used as the science and practice of classifying different species and sub-species based on their biological and genetic makeup.
Family
The family that the Green Anole belongs to is called Dactyloidae. This is simply the scientific name for the family of different kinds of Anoles.
The species in this family are native to the Americas and can be found from the South-Eastern United States to as far South as Paraguay.
There is debate over whether the Dactyloidae family should be considered a true family of lizard at all.
The debate is that they should be classified as a sub-family of Iguanidae. If this was the case, anoles would be classified in the same family as Iguanas.
However, regardless of whether you classify Dactyloidae as a family or sub-family, the lizards in this group are a relative of the lizards in the Iguana family.
Genus
The genus that the Green Anole belongs to is called Anolis. This is one of the largest genera of reptiles with hundreds of species classified as Anolis since the genus was first published in 1802.
However, since then many of these species have been reclassified under different genera while there are also ongoing discussions to reclassify other species.
Despite this, the Anolis genus is still one of the largest and most diverse genera of lizards in the world.
Some of the other species in the Anolis genus include Brown Anole, the Knight Anole and the Jamacian Turquise Anole.
Species
The scientific name for the Green Anole is Anolis carolinensis which loosely means the Anole of Carolina.
There are currently two recognised sub-species, the nominate species Anolis carolinensis carolinensis and Anolis carolinensis seminolus.
This species was first described in 1832 by a German Zoologist named Friedrich Siegmund Voigt while the sub-species Anolis carolinensis seminolus wasn’t described until 1991.
Green Anole Description
The green anole is a small species of lizard that can grow to around five to eight inches in length. However, the tail makes up much of this length.
It has a sharp pointed nose and narrow head while the body is also quite slim. The tail is also very long and skinny. These features give the lizard a very ‘streamline’ appearance.
They are typically vibrant green in color although this can change depending of factors such as their mood and temperature.
This color change can be drastic and can happen in a matter of seconds, with the Green Anole transforming from a vibrant green coloration to a brownish-green or dark brown color.
Their belly is white and this white coloration extends up along their throat as far as the lizard’s mouth.
Their eyes are able to move independently of each other although this isn’t as easily noticeably as it is with species of Chameleon.
The area around the eyes of the Green Anole are usually a pale turquoise color, but this isn’t always present.
Males have a large dewlap that is pink or red in color. A dewlap is a fold of skin that extends from the throat of the lizard.
Natural Habitat and Distribution
The Green Anole is native to the South Eastern United States but has also been introduced to many other regions including many Caribbean and Pacific islands.
In the United States, these lizards can be found in places such as Florida, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.
Their range extends inland through States such as Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana.
They can be found as far West as places such as East Texas and parts of Southern Oklahoma.
There have been many sightings of Green Anoles outside of their natural range due to pets being released into the wild and lizards being unintentionally transported with cargo.
There are even established populations of these lizards in some places such as California, Puerto Rico, Hawaii and Guam.
This species shares some of its geographical range with many well known species including the Florida Softshell Turtle, the Brown Water Snake, the Rainbow Snake, the Coachwhip Snake, the Yellow Bellied Slider and the Peninsula Cooter.
The Green Anole likes to live in habitats where there is very high humidity such as swamps and forests.
It can also be found in places such as parks and gardens and almost anywhere else with trees or other structures to climb.
Green Anole Behaviour
The Green Anole is an arboreal species of lizard meaning it spends most of its time in trees, bushes and other places off the ground.
They are primarily insectivores and will feed on a variety of different insects including flies, spiders, crickets’ beetles and termites.
They will also eat things like butterflies, moths, worms and slugs if the opportunity presents itself.
A male Green Anole will perform visual displays to declare its dominance and ‘ownership’ of territory.
When another male enters its territory, it will react by flaring its dewlap, head bobbing and even doing push ups.
The Green Anole typically breeds between the months of March and September. During this time, males will aggressively defend their territory from other males.
Females will lay a single egg every few weeks during the breeding season. She will burry these amongst moist leaf litter until they hatch.
The female Green Anole can store sperm so if she doesn’t mate with another male this can be used to fertilise later eggs.