Anolis gemmosus
—
Gem Anole
Also known as:
Andes Anole
These very pretty anoles are common around Mindo. Like many tropical arboreal lizards, they are much easier to find at night when they reflect a flashlight beam in a different way than the surrounding vegetation does. The ones with a big tan vertebral stripe are females, and the ones with fine dark spots are males.
A few more males from a couple of nights later. It had been raining steadily in the early evening, leaving our anole friends covered with water drops.
Online references:
- Anolis gemmosus account on The Reptile Database
- Anolis gemmosus account on iNaturalist
- Anolis gemmosus account on Reptiles of Ecuador
Printed references:
- Arteaga, A., Bustamente, L., Guayasamin, J.M. 2013. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Mindo: Life in the cloudforest
- Arteaga, A., Bustamente, L., and Vieira, J. 2024. Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world