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.