Green Anole

The green anole is the only anole that is native to the United States and is one of the best reptiles for first-time reptile owners.

The small lizard is native to Georgia and South Carolina, found in the Southeastern United States from Florida to Texas along with the Caribbean islands. It is an arboreal species that is related to the iguana. Although they are often called the American chameleon due to their color-changing ability, it is not a true chameleon, which is not native to the United States. Other names are common green anole, American green anole, Carolina anole, and red-throated anole.

Incredible Green Anole Facts!

• Its tail falls off when grabbed onto and it later grows back.
• Like other lizards, it runs faster when yelled at.
• It changes color due to melanophore-stimulating hormone (MSH).
• Color changing depends on temperature, humidity, mood, and health.
• It must be handled gingerly.

Evolution and Origins

The green anole, also known as carolinensis, and sometimes mistakenly referred to as the American chameleon, originates from the southern regions of the United States.

Although it can exhibit color variations ranging from green to brown or spotted, its capability to change colors is relatively limited when compared to that of authentic chameleons found in the Old World.

Anolis lizards have their roots in mainland America, but they have successfully expanded their territory to the Greater Antillean islands and subsequently returned to the mainland, creating three distinct categories (Primary and Secondary Mainland and Greater Antillean) in the process.

Furthermore, through DNA sequencing, it has been established that the anole is connected to larger lizards originating from Hispaniola.

List of Different Types

• Anolis acutusSt. Croix anole
• Sharp anole
• Anolis aeneus Grenada bush anole
• Bronze anole
• Anolis aequatorialis Equatorial anole
• Anolis agassizi Agassiz’s anole
• Anolis agueroi Cabo Cruz bearded anole
• Aguero’s anole
• Anolis ahli Escambray blue-eyed anole
• Ahl’s anole
• Anolis alayoni Guantanamo twig anole
• Alayon’s anole
• Anolis alfaroi Small-fanned bush anole
• Alfaro’s anole
• Anolis aliniger Axillary spotted anole
• Northern green twig anole
• La Vega anole
• Anolis allisoniCuban blue anole
• Allison’s anole
• Anolis allogusSpanish Flag anole
• Bueycito anole
• Anolis alocomyos
• Anolis altaeHigh anole
• Anolis altavelensis Alto Velo gracile anole
• Noble’s anole
• Anolis altitudinalis Turquino green-mottled anole
• Anolis aluminaBarahona grass anole
• Shiny anole
• Anolis alutaceus Blue-eyed grass-bush anole
• Monte Verde anole
• Blue-eyed twig anole
• Anolis alvarezdeltoroiAlvarez del Toro’s anole
• Anolis amplisquamosus
• Anolis anatoloros
• Anolis anchicayae
• Anolis anfiloquioi Brown-eyed bush anole
• Anfiodlul anole
• Anolis angusticeps Cuban twig anole
• Anolis anisolepis Chiapas ornate anole
• Anolis annectensAnnex anole
• Anolis anoriensis
• Anolis antioquiae Antiodlula anole
• Anolis antonii San Antonio anole
• Anton’s anole
• Anolis apletolepis La Selle twig anole
• Anolis apletophallus
• Anolis apollinaris Boulenger’s anole
• Anolis aquaticus Water anole
• Anolis arenal
• Anolis argenteolus Cuban trunk anole
• Guantanamo anole
• Anolis argillaceus Cuban dark bark anole
• Bay anole
• Anolis aridius
• Anolis armouri Armoured anole
• Armour’s anole
• Black-throated stout anole
• Anolis auratus Grass anole
• Anolis aurifer
• Anolis australis Southern stout anole

Scientific Name

The green anole’s scientific name is Anolis carolinensis. Anolis is a genus of lizards in Iguana or Iguanomorpha suborder and the Dactyloidae family. It is part of the larger Reptilia class and Squamata order. The Iguana suborder includes the color-changing iguana, chameleon, and agamid along with New World lizards such as anoles and phrynosomatids.

Appearance

The green anole is a small to medium-sized lizard. It has a slender, agile body, a long, pointed head with ridges between the eyes and nostrils, smaller ridges on top of its head, and toe pads. The species is sexually dimorphic with males being 15 percent larger and females being smaller in all body size measurements.

Males also have a dewlap (throat fan) that is three times larger than the female’s and turns bright red, whereas the female’s range from white to pale pink and is not a common feature. Males also have a dorsal ridge that they can extend behind the head while displaying or experiencing stress. Finally, males get scars on the head and face from fighting other males over territory or during the mating season. Females have a white stripe running along their spine, unlike most males.

Additionally, there are heavyweight and lightweight size classes or morphs of adult males, which can both exist within one population. These differ in dominance, bite force, body mass and length, competition, and vertical jump.

Color changing depends on the environment and health or mood. When it’s green, it’s active and in bright light. When it’s brown, it’s less energetic and in a cool or moist environment.

Behavior

The males puff out their dewlap, do pushups, or bob their heads when intimidated by other males. They are territorial and will fight with other males by biting, scratching, or chasing them away. They usually live in the wild with 2-3 females in a territory that is 1 cubic meter (35 cu feet). It is a fact of male territorialism that lizard owners should keep them alone or one male with a few females.

Green anoles are diurnal (active during the day) and throughout the year. They are especially active during the spring and fall, while winter activity depends on the temperature and amount of sunlight. They are cold-blooded but heterothermic, meaning they can self-regulate their body temperature to a degree, but they also need supplemental heat for digestion and health.

Habitat

The typical habitat of green anoles is the moist forests and brushy clearings of neotropical and Nearctic regions including Georgia, South Carolina, and the southeastern United States. However, it has spread to the foliage of urban areas and the low country shrubs of the Carolinas as well as to Hawaii, the Ogasawara Islands of Japan, Cuba, the Bahamas, and Guam.

Diet

Green anoles have a largely insectivorous, carnivorous diet consisting of mealworms, grubs, maggots, and small insects such as beetles, fruit flies, and termites. They also eat house flies in Georgia, South Carolina, and other southeastern urban areas, occasionally eat grains and seeds, and even other small lizards such as skinks. They only notice prey that is moving.

For a full analysis of their diet, check out ‘What Do Green Anoles Eat? The Main Foods in their Diet.’

Predators and Threats

One of the uses for the green anole’s color-changing ability is to hide from predators by blending in with trees and bushes. Broadhead skinks, snakes, and birds are common predators, with cats being another in urban habitats. Although the green anole is threatened by over-predation, it is not endangered in general.

It did, however, go extinct on one island in the Bahamas due to the curly-tailed lizard, a ground-dwelling species which eats lizards and anoles. In Guam, predators such as brown tree snakes (scientific name Boiga irregularis) have reduced their population density.

The brown anole is an invasive species in the green anole’s native habitat and competes with it for shelter and food. As a result, the green anole evolved to live higher up in trees and grow bigger toe pads to be able to climb and run faster.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Green anoles reach sexual maturity at 8 to 9 months. The mating season for green anoles is from April through August or 4-5 months out of the year. During this time, males attract females with head-bobbing and extending their dewlaps. Females who are receptive to mating arch their necks. The male bites the neck of the female and this is a behavior unique to green anoles. He then places his tail under the female and then mounts her back.

The warmer months have the highest reproduction rate due to the heat increasing the size of the gonads. Males are territorial in order to protect their mating partners from intruding males, while females mate in sheltered areas and closed terrain to reduce exposure to predators.

Female green anoles have the ability to store sperm for delayed fertilization. The gestation period is 5-7 weeks, with the female laying one egg every two weeks for an average of 6-9 eggs a year. The eggs are buried in moist soil which the female digs and left to incubate and hatch on their own, meaning the young are left to fend for themselves.

Population

These anoles are the most commonly seen lizard in Alabama and the most common lizard in both urban and suburban areas in the southeastern United States. Florida used to contain the majority of green anoles, but they have been largely replaced by invasive anole species such as the brown anole (scientific name Anolis sagrei). On the other hand, the green anole is an introduced species in Hawaii, the Ogasawara Islands of Japan, Cuba, the Bahamas, and Guam.