This anole was the first reptile I saw in Costa Rica -- an early riser in the gardens of the hotel where we spent our first night after arriving at the nearby San Jose airport. I assumed I would see many more of these anoles later, but I never saw another. I'm not completely sure it's Anolis intermedius, but there are only a relatively small number of anole species that live in the central part of Costa Rica, and the distinctive pattern here seems to match the description of this species in the guide to Monteverde area herps.

Some authorities put most of the Central and South American anole species (as opposed to the U.S./Caribbean ones) into the genus Norops. This will probably be the standard soon, but for now there are still many authorities using "Anolis". Also, some authorities consider A. intermedius a synonym for A. laeviventris. Thanks to Axel Fläschendräger for helping to identify this anole.

Click here to see all the anoles I photographed on this trip.