Name that Anole


Name that Anole from Costa Rica and Panama

Here's a bunch of anoles I photographed on a trip in April 2001 to Costa Rica and Panama. I have at least reasonable guesses of all their identities now, thanks to help over the ensuing years from a number of correspondents including Axel Fläschendräger and Peter Mudde. But I might still have some of them wrong, so if you can add or correct any information about these anoles, please send me mail at john@wildherps.com. Note that I'm calling them all Anolis, though some authorities recognize many of these species as belonging in a separate genus, Norops. I'm not enough of an expert to enter the Anolis vs. Norops debate myself; I've just left them with the older name until the debate is more settled than it seems to be now.

Anole #1


Location: Monteverde Lodge, Costa Rica I found this anole at night sleeping on the side of a large boulder that was partially immersed in a small stream just down the hill from Monteverde Lodge. I believe that it is Anolis oxylophus, the Stream Anole. It was between 3 and 4 inches long, not counting the tail.



Anole #2

Location: Monteverde Lodge, Costa Rica I found this small anole on a fallen branch wedged in rocks in the middle of a stream. It was quite nearby to Anole #1, and so similar in patterning that it must be a juvenile of the same species. Its location on a branch in a stream lends further support for my Stream Anole theory.



Anole #3

Location: Monteverde Lodge, Costa Rica I found this anole on a boulder about twenty feet from the stream mentioned in the accounts for anoles #1 and #2. It was perhaps 2 1/2 inches long, not counting the tail. It has a very different pattern from those, and seems likely to be a different species. I think it is Anolis humilis, the Ground Anole.



Anole #4

Location: Hotel Bougainvillea near San José, Costa Rica This attractively patterned anole was about three inches long, not counting the tail. I believe it is the Gray Lichen Anole, Anolis intermedius. Anole expert Axel Fläschendräger agrees.



Anole #5

Location: Hotel Bougainvillea near San José, Costa Rica This nondescript anole will be hard to identify by its markings, since it pretty much has none. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). I'm guessing that it's a female Anolis lemurinus.



Anole #6

Location: Hotel Bougainvillea near San José, Costa Rica This anole was very near Anole #5; perhaps it is the opposite sex of that one. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). I'm guesing that it's a female Anolis lemurinus.



Anole #7

Location: Carara National Park, Costa Rica This anole was resting head-down on a large tree trunk. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). Anole expert Axel Fläschendräger identified this for me as Anolis cupreus.



Anole #8

Location: Carara National Park, Costa Rica This anole was on a smallish branch near the ground. It seems very likely to be the same species as anole #7, having a similar slightly-broken white dorsal stripe and white side stripes, though the head pattern here is much more distinct. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). Anole expert Axel Fläschendräger identified this for me as Anolis cupreus.



Anole #9

Location: Carara National Park, Costa Rica This anole was on a smallish broken branch on the ground. I wouldn't be surprised if it were the same as anole #7 (and #8), but the coloration here is somewhate different. All three have white dorsal stripes, but this anole didn't have the white side stripes visible on anoles #7 and #8, and there's very little patterning visible here. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). Anole expert Axel Fläschendräger identified this for me as Anolis cupreus.



Anole #10

Location: Carara National Park, Costa Rica This small and very thin anole was in the typical anole head-down position on a tree trunk. It was perhaps 2 1/2 inches long, not counting the tail. I think it is Anolis limifrons, the Slender Anole. Axel Fläschendräger agrees.



Anole #11

Location: Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica This anole was scurrying across the old-growth forest leaf litter. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). My first guess was that it's another Anolis cupreus (like anoles #7-#9). Peter Mudde guesses that it's probably Anolis humilis (like anole #3), though of course it's hard to be confident from just one photo.



Anole #12

Location: Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica This anole was about six feet off the ground, head-down on a vine. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). The dewlap appears to be solid orange, though I did not see it display. It seems reasonably likely that this anole is a less strongly patterned individual of the same species as anoles #13 - #16. Axel Fläschendräger agrees with this guess.



Anoles #13 - #16




Location: Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica These four anoles are clearly all the same species. They were all found near the ground in old-growth forest. I saw the first one display its bright yellow dewlap. The dewlap was extremely large compared to other anole dewlaps I'm used to, extending from near the chin way down a little past the front legs. They were all about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). I'm confident that these four are all male Anolis polylepis (or Norops polylepis, depending whose anole classification system you follow).



Anole #17

Location: Contadora, Pearl Islands, Panama This anole was about a foot off the ground, head-down on a small trunk in a hedge of bushes. It was a very hot day, and very few animals were out and about -- this was the only lizard I saw. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). Perhaps it is a very dark individual of the same species as Anole #18 (Anolis limifrons). Axel Fläschendräger believes this is a reasonable guess.



Anole #18


Location: Pipeline Road, near Gamboa, Panama This anole was in a small bushy plant just off the trail. I watched it hop from limb to limb catching flies. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). I'm pretty sure it is Anolis limifrons, the Slender Anole, like Anole #10. Axel Fläschendräger also thinks this is correct.



Anole #19

Location: Gamboa Rainforest Resort, Panama This anole was in the rainforest canopy; I saw it from near the top of a canopy-piercing tower. It was about three inches long, not counting the tail (typical anole size). The best current guess is Anolis lemurinus, but I'm not very certain about that.



Anole #20

Location: Carara National Park, Costa Rica Here's the easiest one. There's only one solid green anole in the area. This is Anolis biporcatus, the Neotropical Green Anole.