Anole

Anolis carolinensis, sometimes known as the green anole, is a tree-dwelling anole lizard native to the southeastern United States and imported to Pacific and Caribbean islands. The green anole is small to a medium-sized lizard that could alter its colour from brown to green.

Carolina anole, American anole, Carolina green anole, North American green anole, American green anole, and red-throated anole are some of the other common names. Because of its colour-changing abilities, it is frequently known as the American chameleon (mostly in the pet trade), but it is not a true chameleon.

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Carolina Anole: Taxonomic Classification

• Kingdom: Animalia

• Phylum: Chordata

• Class: Reptilia

• Order: Squamata

• Suborder: Iguania

• Family: Dactyloidae

• Genus: Anolis

• Species: A. carolinensis

Description

The green anole lizard is a slender-bodied, small to the medium-sized reptile. The head is elongated and sharp, with ridges running between the eyes and nostrils, as well as tiny ones on the top. Climbing is made easier with adhesive patches on the toes. They have sexual dimorphism, with males approximately 15% larger than females.

The male dewlap (throat fan) is three times the size of the female's and is bright red, while the female's dewlap (throat fan) is lighter in colour and ranges from white to pale pink. When exhibiting or even under stress, males could develop a prominent dorsal ridge behind the head. A conspicuous white stripe runs across the spine of females, which is what most males lack.

Adult males are normally 12.5–20.3 cm (4.9–8.0 in) long, with a body length of up to 7.5 cm (3.0 in) and a weight of 3–7 g (0.11–0.25 oz). They have a tail that makes approximately 60–70% of their length.

Colouration and Colour Morphs

Anoles, like several other lizards, may change colour from brown to green, although they are not real chameleons because they are strongly related to iguanas. Even though A. carolinensis is commonly referred to as an 'American chameleon,' actual chameleons may not exist in the Americas, and A. carolinensis wasn't the only lizard capable of changing colour in its range. True chameleons, on the other hand, have a wider range of colour adaptation, but some can barely change colour at all.

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A green anole's normal colour varies from the richest and brightest greens to the darkest browns, with no or little variation in between. The colour spectrum is made up of three layers of pigment cells called chromatophores: xanthophores, which produce yellow pigment, cyanophores, which produce blue pigment, and melanophores, which produce brown and black pigment. The anole's colour varies based on its mood, activity level, stress level, and as a social signal (for instance, displaying dominance).

Despite popular belief, there is no proof that they do so in reaction to the colour of the background. So's less apparent whether they do it in reaction to temperature, with studies supporting and refuting this theory. Changing colour while being in the presence of a starkly contrasted shadow might result in a "stencil effect," in which the pattern of the shadow is engraved in the animal's colouration for a brief period of time.

Distribution and Habitat

This species seems to be native to North America, where it can be found primarily in the continent's subtropical southeastern regions. Anoles are often common in the Atlantic Coastal Plains of North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, and Florida, as well as the Gulf Coast of Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, where they broaden inland beyond the Texas Hill Country and the DFW Metroplex. They were also found in Mexico, Tamaulipas, but this is almost certainly an introduction. They can be located in the tropical plains of the Carolinas as far north as False Cape in Virginia, as well as in the southern piedmont of North Carolina, and across South Carolina, and in Georgia, other than the Blue Ridge region.

The species has just been spread to Hawaii, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, the Ogasawara Islands, Anguilla, the Bahamas, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and also the Canary Islands, in the Pacific and Caribbean. They've been spotted in southern California's Orange and San Diego counties, with observations in San Diego dating back to at least 1993.

Behaviour

Male anoles have a high sense of territoriality. Some people have even been seen fighting their own reflections in mirrors. To protect his territory, the male will engage in combat with other males. When the anole sees another male, he compresses his body, extends his dewlap, inflates a dorsal ridge, bobs his head, and tries to chase him away.

Anoles may fight through biting and scratching each other if the competitor male attempts to approach. Serious injury is uncommon, but males' heads and faces are frequently scarred, particularly throughout mating season. They normally have two to three females sharing their 1m3area. The Carolina anole is diurnal and active all year, with spring and fall being the busiest times. The sun and temperature play a role in winter activities.

Diet

Crickets, tiny beetles, flies, grasshoppers, moths, butterflies, cockroaches, and other arthropods, especially spiders, make up the majority of an anole's diet, with grains and seeds thrown in for good measure. Anoles were spotted preying on smaller reptiles including adolescent skinks, although this is not considered usual behaviour. Mealworms, maggots, grubs, and small crickets are commonly fed to these lizards as pets.

Predators:

The broadhead skink, birds, snakes, and, in urban areas, cats are all major predators. Anoles, like other lizards, have autonomic tails that wiggle when broken off. This draws the predator's attention away from the anole, allowing it to flee. The development of a new tail then begins. However, because the new tail is made of cartilage rather than bone, it would not usually grow to a certain length as the old one, and that may have a distinct colour and texture from the rest of the animal.

Certain sarcophagid fly species, such as Lepidodexia blakeae, parasitize anoles. Adult flies lay eggs on living anoles, and the larvae grow within the lizard until they escape from a wound and pupate into adult flies in the sediment. Infection is frequently lethal, with fatality rates as high as 90% possible.

Reproduction

The breeding season for Carolina anoles typically begins in April and ends in late September, with gonadal activity being mostly governed by photoperiod, with gonadal activity growing in the spring as the weather gets warmer and days elongate, and then declining in the late summer.

Males patrol their territories during this time, as well as the most dazzling demonstrations of these species can be observed. Males defend their area and females from intruders while courting them with elaborate demonstrations of stretching their vividly coloured dewlaps and bobbing up and down, nearly dancing. Other men are kept at bay by the dewlap. The male courted and pursued the female until they were able to mate. When a female is able to breed, she might just let male capture her by chewing a fold of her skin behind her neck. The male would next place his tail beneath the female's tail, close to her vent. Males possess two sex organs, called hemipenes, that are ordinarily retained inside the body but are everted from the vent for mating. On subsequent matings, males appear to rotate between the left and right hemipenis.

The female's ovarian follicles mature one at a time, with the ovaries alternately producing. Ovarian development, sexual receptivity, and ovulation are all triggered by the appearance of a courting male. The female produces her initial clutch of eggs two to four weeks after mating, typically one or two in the initial clutch. During the breeding season, she could lay an egg every two weeks until she has produced roughly ten eggs. She may, however, preserve sperm for up to eight months after mating. The soft-shelled eggs are subsequently buried in a shallow hole in rotting wood, soft soil, compost, leaf litter, or even a hole in a nearby tree. The typical egg size is 12.5 mm (0.49 in) by 9.3 mm (0.37 in).

Captivity

Because of their neurotic natures, it is best not to handle Carolina anoles very much; yet, Carolina anoles are popular pets. Individual animals may or may not easily adjust to life in a cage. The animals should be given the support they require to adjust to captivity and live full and meaningful lives; a properly sized cage, and also the appropriate plants and substrate material, are all advantageous to the health of captive Carolina anoles.

Carolina anoles could be housed in a 20-gallon terrarium or larger, including plants surrounding the back and sides. A typical setup might feature an arena wherein calcium-fortified feeder insects could be dropped in full view of the lizards. Carolina anoles enjoy leaping down on and engulfing their prey.

Genomics

The National Human Genome Research Institute's genome sequencing programme has selected this species as a reference reptile for genomics. It was chosen due to the convenience and inexpensive cost of laboratory breeding, as well as the evolutionary relevance of the genus' variety. The lizard's entire genome was sequenced and reported in Nature in 2011.

Only mammals and three bird species have been sequenced among amniotes until its genome was released. The resulting genome sequence is 1.78 GB, with mobile elements like LINEs accounting for 27% of the total. The A. carolinensis genome assembly projected a total of 17,472 protein-coding genes and 2,924 RNA genes.

Cuban Anole

The knight anole (Anolis equestris) is the Dactyloidae family's largest anole species. Other names for this species are Cuban knight anole and Cuban huge anole, both of which refer to its home nation, and it has been brought to Florida. This huge anole is known as chipojo in its native Cuba.

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Appearance- Adult knight anoles have a total length of 13–20 in (33–51 cm) and weigh 0.56–4.83 oz (16–137 g). They have a tail which is longer than that of the head and body. Males get larger than females, with such a snout–vent range of 3.9–7.5 in (10–19 cm) for the former and 3.5–6.3 in (9–16 cm) for the latter.

It is primarily bright green, with a yellow stripe on the borders of the head and the other on the shoulder, however, it can change colour. It seems to have a dewlap that is pinkish-white. Light bands adorn the bodies of juveniles.

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Behaviour- Knight anolis are nocturnal and possessive of their territory. At first, they turn to face practically any perceived threat, even if it is simply from afar. A lizard would sit high across all fours, glow green, gape menacingly, and possibly bob its head throughout its challenge show. Both females and males would "puff themselves up" with air as the male extends his dewlap.

Diet- When it is young, it eats mostly insects. It largely feeds invertebrates (especially insects and snails) as an adult, although it also eats fruits and can disseminate seeds. They might even hunt on tiny vertebrates like small birds and reptiles (including other anoles), yet studies show that they do so less often than most other anole species.

Crickets, grasshoppers, Blaptica dubia cockroaches, mealworms, and waxworms were being fed to Cuban knight anoles in captivity (vitamin B sprinkled). They might even eat a pinkie mouse now and then. Leafy greens and fruit pieces have been added to the mix.

Captivity- The anole's aggressiveness appears to reduce in captivity to some extent; if nurtured from birth and handled, it is normal for it to become tame enough to have been held. It rarely assaults smaller lizards in shared terraria with other lizard species, until the other reptile encroaches on its domain. Because it has a strong bite and yet many small, sharp teeth, it should only be hand-fed with safety.