Family Dactyloidae
Anolis cristatellus Duméril & Bibron, 1837
Figure 3A
Materials examined. PUERTO RICO – Arecibo • Mata de
Plátano Field Station and Nature Reserve; 18.414, -66.729; 151 m above
sea level; Justin Matthew Bernstein, Camilo Andrés Calderón-Acevedo,
Pedro Ivo Mônico, Lázaro Willian Viñola-Lopez, J. Angel Soto-Centeno;
Individual 1 – found on karst wall on southwest side of field station
at 6:00 PM; Individual 2–3 – found on karst wall next to steel
entrance gate of field station, 138 m southwest of field station
building at 6:00 PM; Individuals 4–5 – on walls, beneath second-level
deck of field station at 8:23 AM; Individual 6 – Outside the entrance
of Cueva Larvas (18.414° N, -66.727°W) in forest with cooler
microclimate, found on vines with spotty sunlight, at 12:25 PM;
Individuals 8 – on palm tree at ~ 1.5 m off ground at
8:00 AM, performing territorial ‘push up’ behavior; Individuals 9–10 –
on south wall of field station mating with each other at 4:58 PM;
Individuals 11–13 – sleeping on plants on forest edge on south side of
field station at 12:30 AM; Individuals 14–17: found on plants on forest
edge on south side of field station at 8:00 AM; Individuals 18–19 on
branches ~1.5 m above ground, near karst wall on
southwest side of field station at 2:45 PM; Individual 20 – in forest
on leaf litter, ~50 m south of Cueva de los Culebrones.
Identification. Identified based on morphology and geographic
distribution. The brown/tan and coloration, brown eyes, and crest of
this species distinguishes it from all other Anolis in Puerto
Rico. Anolis evermanni has green coloration, and A.
stratulus has large, dorsal, saddle-shaped blotches on the back
distinguished. Anolis gundlachi has blue eyes, A. krugihas yellow or cream-colored lateral stripes (absent in our individuals),
and A. cuvieri is a large, green crown giant anole. All otherAnolis are found outside the range of Mata de Plátano.
Anolis cuvieri Merrem, 1820
Figure 3B
Materials examined. PUERTO RICO – Arecibo • Mata de
Plátano Field Station and Nature Reserve; 18.414, -66.729; 151 m above
sea level; Justin Matthew Bernstein, Camilo Andrés Calderón-Acevedo,
Pedro Ivo Mônico, Lázaro Willian Viñola-Lopez, J. Angel Soto-Centeno;
Individual 1 – found sleeping on U-shaped vine ~ 4.5 m
above ground at southeast edge of field station at 9:00 PM.
Identification. This species is readily distinguished from all
congeners by being one of two crown giant anoles in the Puerto Rico
Bank. It’s bright green coloration, large dorsal body and tail crests,
and large size (~125 mm; 5 mm snout-vent-length; Rivero
1998) separate it from all other Anolis . The other crown giant,A. roosevelti , was distributed to the Puerto Rico satellite
islands of Culebra and Vieques, and Tortola and St. John of the Virgin
Islands, but is presumed to be extinct (Rivero, 1998).
Anolis krugi PETERS, 1877
Figure 3C
Materials examined. PUERTO RICO – Arecibo • Mata de
Plátano Field Station and Nature Reserve; 18.414, -66.729; 151 m above
sea level; Justin Matthew Bernstein, Camilo Andrés Calderón-Acevedo,
Pedro Ivo Mônico, Lázaro Willian Viñola-Lopez, J. Angel Soto-Centeno;
Individual 1–2 – found on plants on forest edge on south side of field
station at 5:00 PM; Individual 3 – on branch ~1.5 m
above ground, over karst wall on southwest side of field station at 3:00
PM; Individual 4 – on branch ~1.7 m above ground on
forest edge ~50 m south of field station; Individual 5
– in forest on ground, ~50 m south of Cueva de los
Culebrones.
Identification. Distinguished from all other species by a
combination of the presence of prominent yellow/cream-colored lateral
lines that extend from the eye to the groin (also found in A.
pulchellus ) and numerous black specks on the sides of the back and
flanks (absent in A. pulchellus ), and the absence of a brown band
behind the eye. All other Anolis are found outside the range of
Mata de Plátano or lack the lateral lines and black specks on the back
and flanks.
Anolis stratulus Cope, 1861
Figure 3D
Materials examined. PUERTO RICO – Arecibo • Mata de
Plátano Field Station and Nature Reserve; 18.414, -66.729; 151 m above
sea level; Justin Matthew Bernstein, Camilo Andrés Calderón-Acevedo,
Pedro Ivo Mônico, Lázaro Willian Viñola-Lopez, J. Angel Soto-Centeno;
Individual 1 – On south wall of field station at 11:00 AM; Individuals
2–3 – found on karst wall on southwest side of field station at 8:23
AM; Individuals 4–6 – found on karst wall on southwest side of field
station 11:07 AM; Individuals 7–8 – sleeping on plants on forest edge
on south side of field station at 12:30 AM.
Identification. Readily identified from all other Anolison the island by the prominent saddle-shaped blotched on the dorsum. The
lack of a crest on the dorsum or tail distinguish it from all other
Puerto Rican anoles, with the exception of A. evermanni andA. occultus . Anolis evermanni has bright green coloration
(tan/brown in our individuals) and A. occultus has a downward
taping snout and a smaller body size and tail than A. stratulus ;
both A. evermanni and A. occultus lack saddle-shaped
blotches on the dorsum.