Reptiles · Squamata · Dactyloidae

Cuban Brown Anole

Anolis sagrei

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The Cuban brown anole, known in Spanish as lagartija chipojo, abaniquillo pardo or anolis pardo, (Anolis sagrei) is a species of lizard endemic to the islands of Cuba and the Bahamas in the Caribbean Sea, although it has also been introduced in some other places and can also be found in Mexico, Panama and Florida in the United States.

Size

12 cm – 21 cm

Lifespan

5 years

Diet

Insectivore

Feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

Its arrival on some Florida islets forced the native green anole up into the high branches, and in only fifteen years and twenty generations the pads on its toes grew larger to grip thin branches better: one of the fastest cases of observed evolution documented in a vertebrate.
The Caribbean anoles are the textbook example of adaptive radiation: on each large island the same ecological types evolved independently, with trunk, twig and ground forms almost identical from island to island.
It lays a single egg at a time, but does so every few days throughout the season, a strategy that lets it colonise any new place quickly.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)
Habitat & environment: Low trunks, scrub, gardens and urban areas of Cuba, the Bahamas and regions where it has been introduced
Sexual maturity: 9 months
Gestation / incubation: 35 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 1 egg

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anolis_sagrei