Brown Anole
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| Anolis sagrei Cocteau in Duméril and Bibron, 1837 |
The Brown Anole, Anolis sagrei (or Norops sagrei) is a lizard native to Cuba and the Bahamas. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, and may now be found in South Florida and as far north as Southern Georgia, Texas, Taiwan, Hawaii, and other Caribbean islands. Its introduction in the USA has altered the behavior and potentially triggered a negative effect on populations of the native Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis.
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[edit] Description
The Brown Anole is a slender lizard reaching about 18cm in length. Males and females differ somewhat in coloration: males have a dark stripe down their backs, females a light stripe. The mature males weigh about twice that of females. As in other anoles, the male has a brightly colored throat fan, called a dewlap, which is yellow or reddish-orange. They are territorial and the dewlap is used in territorial displays. Anoles have expanded toe pads that allow them to cling to smooth surfaces.
[edit] Behavior
Unlike the green anole which prefers foliage, the brown anole often scampers around on the ground. They are athletic creatures that run surprisingly fast, and jump many times their length. In Florida, they climb screens and peer in windows. The brown anole gets used to humans and can often be studied at close range.
[edit] Molting
Both the brown anole and the green anole molt (shed). But unlike a snake, they do not shed in one piece but in flakes, some quite large. The molting anole grooms itself and eats the flakes.
[edit] Reproduction
Females generally deposit a single egg in leaf litter about every week or two during their reproductive season, which is year-round in many tropical locations.
The eggs are about 1 centimeter in diameter. They are an off-white color and hatch in about 3 to 4 weeks.
[edit] Food
The brown anole feeds on insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, and on mice, small green anoles when convenient, and other such things. They will also eat their molted skin.
