Anolis stratulus
Anolis stratulus | |
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Male with extended dewlap | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Family: | Dactyloidae |
Genus: | Anolis |
Species: | A. stratulus
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Binomial name | |
Anolis stratulus Cope, 1861
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Synonyms[2][3][4] | |
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Anolis stratulus is a moderately-sized species of
It is locally known as the lagartijo manchando in Puerto Rico.[2][5][6][7] Names which have been coined for it in English are spotted anole,[2] Puerto Rican spotted anole (in Puerto Rico),[8] banded anole (in Puerto Rico),[2][5] saddled anole,[9] salmon lizard,[6] barred anole,[6] St. Thomas anole[2] or the somewhat of a misnomer chameleon, because it can change color. It is known as the "spotted anole" because of the black markings on its back;[8] the Spanish word manchado means as much. There are no salmon in Puerto Rico; the name "salmon lizard" may have been invented for tourists in 2007 by Alan Mowbray, 'interpretive media writer' for the website of El Yunque National Forest,[6] referring to the trout-like colour pattern of its flanks or the perhaps his interpretation of the color of the skin. The names "saddled anole" and "barred anole" are likely taken from the 1862 description by Edward Drinker Cope, although it is not really true, Cope believed that the lizards were characteristically saddled with brown transverse bars on their back. The name "banded anole" may also refer to that.[3] "St. Thomas anole" is also from Cope; although he was immediately corrected in a 1862 Danish publication, in his original English-language publication he stated the anole was only found on the island of St. Thomas.[3][4]
Taxonomy
This species of lizard, along with many other reptiles, was first studied by the Danish apothecary Albert Heinrich Riise who in 1838 had moved to town of Taphus (which means 'bar', owing to the amount of rum produced and served there) on Sankt Thomas Island in the Danish West Indies to eventually open a pharmacy and distillery of medicinal rums and bitters.[10][11] Riise, successful in this endeavour, was also extremely interested in the natural history of his surroundings, and by the 1840s had begun to ship ample specimens of plants and animals to Copenhagen, and many also found their way elsewhere throughout Europe and the young United States. In Copenhagen the zoologists Johannes Theodor Reinhardt and Christian Frederik Lütken had begun work on a great monograph, eventually some 200 pages excluding illustrations, on the amphibians and reptiles of the Danish West Indies and the wider Caribbean, much of it based on the extensive collections of Riise. Riise had collected numerous specimens of this lizard from the islands of St. Thomas, Puerto Rico, Vieques, Tortola and Jost van Dyke, which Reinhardt and Lütken had described as Anolis dorsomaculatus, and named as such numerous specimens that had already been distributed to museums throughout Europe and the Americas.[4]
Unfortunately for them however, just before they were set to publish their work, the young American
Cope only published that the species was to be found on Sankt Thomas, not having known or studied the entirety of Riise's collections, and only examining a handful of specimens to be found in nearby US institutions, all of which happened to have been collected on that island.
For the next century and a half the taxonomy remained stable and uncontroversial, but in 1986
At least in 2007 the Integrated Taxonomic Information System recognised the species in the genus Ctenonotus,[6][17] but this database recognises it in Anolis as of 2020.[18] The Reptile Database has also maintained recognition of it within the genus Anolis as of 2020.[2]
Higher classification
A. stratulus has been classified as a member of a "cristatellus series" along with A. acutus, A. cristatellus, A. cooki, A. desechensis, A. ernestwilliamsi, A. evermanni, A. gundlachi, A. krugi, A. monensis, A. poncensis, A. pulchellus and A. scriptus; all native to Puerto Rico and neighbouring islands.[19]
Etymology
Cope states that the
Description
This species of anole is a small lizard (or moderately-sized for an anole), adults measuring 40 to 44 mm (1.6 to 1.7 in) from snout to vent in males,[6][19] in females to 46 mm (1.8 in).[19]
The male does not have a dorsal crest or tail fin which is common in many of the anole lizards of Puerto Rico. The species' range of color is from gray[6][7] to brownish gray. It has a pale colored, hour-glass shaped spots from the nape of its neck to its tail, and also has a black, crescent-shaped patch behind the eye.[6] It has distinct black or darker markings running down the nape of its neck and its back,[8][7] which are more noticeable on males.[8] Its flanks are marked with small dark spots.[6] The throat of this anole has raised brown ridges[6] and the dewlap color is orange with light yellow scales,[6][22] or "bright orange and yellow toward the margins".[7] The dewlap is rather large.[3] The tail is slightly compressed,[3][19] with the eight or nine vertical rows of weakly keeled scales being arranged in a clearly whorled or verticillate pattern, and the upper margin (edge) of the tail being strongly toothed.[19] The tail measures 51 to 75 mm (2.0 to 3.0 in) in length.[4]
In females the dewlap much smaller than it is in the male, and it is colored gray, with some pale orange in the centre near the throat. Unlike in many other anoles, in this species the juveniles have the same coloration and color patterns as do the adults.[7] Reinhardt and Lütken provide a comparison table of anatomical dimensions of the males and females, with the females being slightly smaller in all measured characteristics according to them (although see above).[4]
It has four or five rows of
Similar species
Juveniles may be confused with those of Anolis evermanni in situ. Adults of A. evermanni are emerald green, but the juveniles of this species have the same cryptic coloration as this species. The juveniles of these two species can be distinguished by the colors of the head and neck. These are uniformly gray in this species, but in A. evermanni are greenish gray.[7]
In his original description of 1862 Cope considered this species to be most similar to A. alligator, based mostly on the shape of the head, which is now in modern times is considered a synonym of A. roquet and is not considered particularly closely related to this species at all.[3] On the other hand Reinhardt and Lütken find it most similar to the also Puerto Rican A. pulchellus in its dewlap, and they also compare it to juvenile A. cristatellus, but mention that this species can be distinguished by the darker backsides, and a longer, differently shaped head; both these species are now indeed thought to be closely related to A. stratulus.[4] As with all anoles, the pattern of scales on the head are diagnostic.[3][4]
Distribution
This species has one of the widest natural distributions of all the anoles of
Outside of Puerto Rico the species can be found in the
It is a commonly observed animal in the northern
Ecology
Habitat
This lizard is a "
The anoles of this species which are found in the El Yunque National Forest in Puerto Rico generally occupy the tabonuco, Dacryodes excelsa, tree canopy, which range from 10 to 20 meters in height from the ground.[6] Despite their incredibly vast numbers here,[23] the lizards may be difficult to see for visitors to the forests, because they live high up in the canopy[6] and are camouflaged.[8] After hurricanes which may periodically strafe this region and tear down much of the canopy, leaving the forests with mostly upright but completely denuded trees, these lizards are then seen in great abundance because they then live amongst the fallen branches and foliage, which can be up to five meters thick.[29]
On the terrain of the large navy base of Sabana Seca on the northern coast of Puerto Rico (as of 2020 still owned by the navy, but closed in 2003, like almost all of the many large bases the US military used to occupy on the island) this species is abundant in all the forested habitats of the area -the mangrove forests, wooded karst hilltops and valleys, and the high, seasonally semi-flooded palo de pollo forests of Pterocarpus officinalis.[7]
Behaviour
It is
It is diurnal. It is not shy, especially the males, and they let humans come quite close -showing their dewlap as an observer approaches.[7]
Interactions with other species
In some regions, such as
Diet
A. stratulus has a diet consisting of mainly
On the Guana Island a male lizard was observed to climb into a flowering
Parasites
In its native Puerto Rico, individuals of this species may sometimes contract a type of anole malaria,
Conservation
This is a very common species in many parts of Puerto Rico,[5] where it may occur at densities of thousands to tens of thousands per acre.[8] One estimate puts it at 21,500 per hectare[23][29] (which one website calculated as 46,000 per acre, and then reconverted to 23,000 per hectare).[6]
The
It has been recorded as present in the following
- Guánica State Forest, Puerto Rico, USA.[25]
- Reserva Forestal de Maricao, Puerto Rico, USA.[8]
- Los Tres Picachos State Forest, Puerto Rico, USA.[5]
- Virgin Islands National Park, U.S. Virgin Islands, USA.[13]
- El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico, USA.[25]
See also
- List of amphibians and reptiles of Puerto Rico
- List of endemic fauna of Puerto Rico
- List of Anolis lizards
References
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T75087078A75171881. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/75087078/75171881. Downloaded on 29 March 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Uetz, Peter; Hallermann, Jakob. "Anolis stratulus". The Reptile Database. Zoological Museum Hamburg. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cope, Edward Drinker (February 1862). "Notes and Descriptions of Anoles". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 13 (2): 209. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Reinhardt, Johannes Theodor; Lütken, Christian Frederik (14 February 1862). "Bidrag til det vestindiske Öriges og navnligen til de dansk-vestindiske öers Herpetologie". Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra den naturhistoriske Forening i Kjöbenhavn (in Danish). 10 (18): 153–156, 255–257. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Miranda Castro, Leopoldo; Puente Rolón, Alberto R.; Vega Castillo, Sondra (May 2000). "First List of the Vertebrates of Los Tres Picachos State Forest, Puerto Rico, with Data on Relative Abundance and Altitudinal Distribution". Caribbean Journal of Science. 36 (1): 117–126. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Mowbray, Alan (2007). "Barred Anole". El Yunque National Forest - Nature & Science. United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Rios López, Neftalí (24 May 2002). "A. stratulus". The Herpetofauna of Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico. Naval Security Group Activity Sabana Seca. Archived from the original on November 24, 2004. Retrieved March 30, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Sánchez Muñoz, Alejandro J. "Reptiles II: Anoles - Looking Down on Us". Father Sanchez's Web Site of West Indian Natural History. Kingsnake. Retrieved 1 February 2020.
- ^ a b Perry, Gad; Lazell, James (1997). "Anolis stratulus (Saddled Anole) Nectivory" (PDF). Herpetological Review. 28 (3): 150–151. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
- ISBN 978-87-89742-14-4.
- OCLC 86172958.
- ISBN 978-0-910006-53-8.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai Schwartz, Albert; Henderson, Robert W. (15 January 1988). "West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles: A Check-List" (PDF). Milwaukee Public Museum - Contributions in Biology and Geology. 74: 120, 121. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ JSTOR 2992437. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ Williams, E.E. (1989). "A critique of Guyer and Savage (1986): cladistic relationships among anoles (Sauria: Iguanidae): are the data available to reclassify the anoles?". In Woods, C.A. (ed.). Biogeography of the West Indies: Past, Present, Future. Gainesville, Florida: Sandhill Crane Press. pp. 433–477.
- ^ PMID 26176139. Retrieved 6 February 2020.
- ^ McDiarmid, Roy W. "Ctenonotus stratulus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
- ^ "Anolis stratulus". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Perez i Gorgoy, Lluis (2000). "Anolis stratulus". Caribbean Anole Database. Lluis Perez i Gorgoy. Archived from the original on March 15, 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2006.
- . Oxford: Clarendon Press.
- ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=jO8sAAAAYAAJ&dq=saddle+stratus&pg=RA1-SA2-PA230 "A saddled horse: equus stratus"
- ^ a b c Perez i Gorgoy, Lluis (2000). "Puerto Rico's Anoles". Caribbean Anole Database. Lluis Perez i Gorgoy. Archived from the original on March 11, 2006. Retrieved March 31, 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Reagan, D. P. (1996). "The role of amphibians and reptiles in a West Indian rain forest food web". In Powell, Robert; Henderson, Robert W. (eds.). Contributions to Herpetology, volume 12: Contributions to West Indian Herpetology: A Tribute to Albert Schwartz. Ithaca, New York: Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. pp. 217–227.
- ^ OCLC 45726059. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- ^ OCLC 2137272.
- ^ ISSN 0008-6452. Archived from the original(PDF) on 2005-01-19.
- ^ a b c d e Borkhataria, R. R. (1993). Ecological and political implications of conversion from shade to sun coffee in Puerto Rico (MS). North Carolina State University. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- ^ Platenberg, Renata J.; Hayes, Floyd E.; McNair, Douglas B.; Pierce, J. J. (January 2005). A Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy for the U.S. Virgin Islands (Report). Division of Fish and Wildlife, St. Thomas, University of the Virgin Islands. pp. 81–97. Retrieved 9 February 2020.
- ^ PMID 10864248. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
- ISBN 9781420080414. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- doi:10.15468/39omei. Retrieved 9 February 2020.