floridensis
beneath the spanish moss with janson jones
Anolis distichus, 02 September 2011
Anolis distichus, the Bark anole;
Miami-Dade county, Florida (02 September 2011).
Know the Fremen of Arakkis by their blue-within-blue eyes, and know the Bark anole of South Florida by their key-lime-green dewlaps. Heh. Of all the non-native anole species currently vying for a place to scratch out a living across the southern Florida peninsula, none have it so tough on a day to day basis than the diminutive and modest Bark anole. Flanked by stockier, rowdier trunk-ground anoles from below (such as the Cuban brown anole) and the larger, more-agile trunk-crown anoles from above (such as the Carolina green anole), the Bark anole, a modest trunk ecomorph, has a tough gig to play on a day to day basis. They’re fairly small and rather quick to swipe left or right around whatever tree trunk they’re trying to hide upon. A wary, wiry, and reactive species with an absolutely delicious-to-the-eyes dewlap. No sign of them in Volusia County just yet, but they have started showing up in south Orlando.
floridensis 