Brown Anole - Anolis sagrei
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Florida's Nonnative Wildlife. Species detail.
First year: 1887
Extirpated year:
Established status: Populations
are confirmed breeding and apparently self-sustaining for 10 or
more consecutive years.
Estimated Florida range: 52
counties At least 10 years, 1 county Less than 10
years
Statewide trend: Expanding
Threats to natives: Anecdotal and
some experimental evidence suggest that the brown anole is
primarily responsible for reduced numbers of green anoles (Anolis
carolinensis), particularly in human-altered habitats. Brown anoles
displace green anoles to higher in trees, and adult male brown
anoles sometimes prey upon smaller green anoles (e.g., Gerber 1991,
Echternacht 1999, Campbell 2000).
Species Account: The brown anole
is native to Cuba and the Bahamas, and it was first observed in the
Florida Keys in 1887 (Garman 1887). It arrived in the major
seaports of South Florida during the 1940s (Oliver 1950, Bell 1953)
and had become firmly established in most large urbanized areas
south of Gainesville by 1980 (Godley et al. 1981, Lee 1985).
Peripheral populations continue to be established in the panhandle
and northern peninsular Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas via
motor vehicles (Campbell 1996) or transport of potted landscaping
vegetation. Many of these peripheral populations are along major
highways at rest areas, campgrounds, and hotels (Campbell 1996).
Cold winters reduce these northern populations but enough
individuals usually survive to maintain viable populations. Dense
populations occur on nearly every dredge spoil island along the
Intracoastal Waterway in the Indian River south of Melbourne
(Campbell 1996). Anoles reach these islands by riding on boats or
on firewood piles transported on boats by campers (Campbell 1996).
This species thrives in disturbed habitats and ornamental plantings
but can potentially inhabit almost any inland or coastal habitat in
Florida. It is apparently the most abundant anole over much of the
southern half of peninsular Florida, and populations now occur in
every county in peninsular Florida (Campbell 2003). It often
perches low in trees and shrubs but is quite terrestrial, often
escaping by running along the ground. Males reach a length of 20 cm
(8 in). The body is brown, and males often have bands of yellowish
spots, whereas females and juveniles have a light vertebral stripe
with dark, scalloped edges. The edge of the dewlap is white and
appears as a stripe on the throat when not distended. The dewlap
may vary in color from a bright red-orange to pale yellow. Two
subspecies, the Bahaman (ordinatus) and Cuban (sagrei), could once
be identified in Florida (King and Krakauer 1966), but they can no
longer be recognized due to extensive intergradation (Lee 1985,
1987).
Habitats: Coastal upland,
Estuarine community, Exotic plant community, Barren land, Low
density suburban development, areas peripheral to core urban areas,
and small towns, Agricultural habitat, Recently disturbed, early
successional community, Pine Rockland, Flatwoods, Xeric Uplands
|
| Region |
First Year |
Extirpated
Year |
Breeding
status |
Notes |
| NORTH CENTRAL |
1980s |
|
At least 10 years |
|
| NORTHEAST |
1985 |
|
At least 10 years |
|
| SOUTHWEST |
|
|
At least 10 years |
|
| SOUTH |
1887 |
|
At least 10 years |
|
| County |
First Year |
Extirpated Year |
Breeding Status |
Notes |
| ALACHUA |
1980 |
|
At least 10 years |
Gainesville (Wygoda and Bain 1980) |
| BAKER |
1995 |
|
Less than 10 years |
near MacClenny (Campbell 1996) |
| BAY |
1989 |
|
At least 10 years |
Panama City Beach (Means 1990a) |
| BRADFORD |
2002 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Starke (Campbell 2003) |
| BREVARD |
1988 |
|
At least 10 years |
Melbourne Beach (Cochran 1990) |
| BROWARD |
1964 |
|
At least 10 years |
Port Everglades (King and Krakauer 1966) |
| CITRUS |
1991 |
|
At least 10 years |
St. Martin's Aquatic Preserve (Stevenson and Crowe 1992a) |
| COLLIER |
1979 |
|
At least 10 years |
(Godley et al. 1981) |
| COLUMBIA |
1991 |
|
At least 10 years |
Lake City (Campbell 1996) |
| DADE |
1951 |
|
At least 10 years |
Miami (Bell 1953) |
| DE SOTO |
2002 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Morgan Park near Arcadia (Campbell 2003) |
| DIXIE |
2002 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Horseshoe Beach (Campbell 2003) |
| DUVAL |
1985 |
|
At least 10 years |
Jacksonville (Lee 1985) |
| FLAGLER |
1995 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Bunnell (Campbell 1996) |
| FRANKLIN |
1995 |
|
Less than 10 years |
St. George Island (Means 1996c) |
| GILCHRIST |
2001 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Fanning Springs (Townsend et al. 2002) |
| GLADES |
1976 |
|
At least 10 years |
Palmdale (Corwin et al. 1977) |
| HAMILTON |
1995 |
|
Less than 10 years |
near Jennings (Campbell 1996) |
| HARDEE |
1998 |
|
Less than 10 years |
(Christman et al. 2000) |
| HENDRY |
2002 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Clewiston (Campbell 2003) |
| HERNANDO |
2002 |
|
Less than 10 years |
15 km east of Brooksville (Campbell 2003) |
| HIGHLANDS |
1977 |
|
At least 10 years |
Lake Placid (Godley et al. 1981) |
| HILLSBOROUGH |
1947 |
|
At least 10 years |
Tampa (Oliver 1950) |
| LAKE |
1980 |
|
At least 10 years |
Alexander Springs State Park, Ocala National Forest (Campbell
2003) |
| LEE |
1977 |
|
At least 10 years |
Sanibel Island (Funk and Moll 1979); Gasparilla Island (Godley
et al. 1981) |
| LEVY |
2001 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Chiefland (Townsend et al. 2002) |
| MARION |
1979 |
|
At least 10 years |
Ocala (Godley et al. 1981) |
| MARTIN |
2001 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Lake Okeechobee (Townsend et al. 2002) |
| MONROE |
1887 |
|
At least 10 years |
Florida Keys (Garman 1887); Dry Tortugas (Winegarner et al.
1984) |
| NASSAU |
1994 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Hero (Campbell and Hammontree 1995) |
| OKEECHOBEE |
2002 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Okeechobee (Campbell 2003) |
| ORANGE |
1978 |
|
At least 10 years |
Orlando (Godley et al. 1981) |
| OSCEOLA |
1977 |
|
At least 10 years |
Ocala (Godley et al. 1981) |
| PALM BEACH |
1941 |
|
At least 10 years |
Intentionally released in Lake Worth (Oliver 1950) |
| PASCO |
1977 |
|
At least 10 years |
New Port Richey (Godley et al. 1981) |
| PINELLAS |
1946 |
|
At least 10 years |
St. Petersburg (Oliver 1950) |
| POLK |
1979 |
|
At least 10 years |
Bartow (Godley et al. 1981) |
| PUTNAM |
1995 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Palatka (Campbell 1996) |
| SAINT JOHNS |
1975 |
|
At least 10 years |
St. Augustine (Meylan 1977) |
| SAINT LUCIE |
1977 |
|
At least 10 years |
Fort Pierce (Myers 1978d) |
| SARASOTA |
1977 |
|
At least 10 years |
Lido Key (Godley et al. 1981) |
| SUWANNEE |
2002 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Branford (Campbell 2003) |
| TAYLOR |
2000 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Econfina River State Park (Townsend et al. 2002) |
| UNION |
2002 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Branford (Campbell 2003) |
| VOLUSIA |
1989 |
|
At least 10 years |
Bethune Beach (Campbell 1996) |
References
Bartlett, R. D., and P. P. Bartlett. 1999. A field
guide to Florida reptiles and amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company,
Houston, Texas. 278pp.
Bell, L. N. 1953. Notes on three subspecies of the
lizard Anolis sagrei in southern Florida. Copeia 1953:63.
Campbell, T. S. 1996. Northern range expansion of
the brown anole (Anolis sagrei) in Florida and Georgia.
Herpetological Review 27:155-157.
Campbell, T. S. 2000. Analysis of the effects of an
exotic lizard (Anolis sagrei) on a native lizard (Anolis
carolinensis) in Florida, using islands as experimental units.
Dissertation, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA.
336pp.
Cambell, T. S. 2003. The introduced brown anole
(Anolis sagrei) occurs in every county in peninsular Florida.
Herpetological Review 34:173-174.
Campbell, T. S., and J. T. Hammontree. 1995. Anolis
sagrei (brown anole). Herpetological Review 26:107.
Christman, S. P., C. A. Young, S. Gonzalez, K.
Hill, G. Navratil, and P. Delis. 2000. New records of amphibians
and reptiles from Hardee County, Florida. Herpetological Review
31:116-117.
Cochran, P. A. 1990. Anolis sagrei (brown anole).
Herpetological Review 21:22.
Corwin, C. M., A. V. Linzey, and D. W. Linzey.
1977. Anolis sagrei sagrei (Cuban brown anole). Herpetological
Review 8:84.
Echternacht, A. C. 1999. Possible causes for the
rapid decline in population density of green anoles, Anolis
carolinensis (Sauria: Polychrotidae) following invasion by the
brown anole, Anolis sagrei, in the southeastern United States.
Anolis Newsletter V:22-27.
Funk, R. S., and D. Moll. 1979. Anolis sagrei
(Cuban brown anole). Herpetological Review 10:102.
Garman, S. 1887. On West Indian Iguanidae and on
West Indian Scincidae in the collection of the Museum of
Comparative Zoology at Cambridge, Mass., U.S.A. Bulletin of the
Essex Institute 19:25-50.
Gerber, G. P. 1991. Anolis sagrei and Anolis
carolinensis in Florida: evidence for interspecific predation.
Anolis Newsletter IV:49-53.
Godley, J. S., F. E. Lohrer, J. N. Layne, and J.
Rossi. 1981. Distributional status of an introduced lizard in
Florida: Anolis sagrei. Herpetological Review 12:84-86.
King, F. W., and T. Krakauer. 1966. The exotic
herpetofauna of southeast Florida. Quarterly Journal of the Florida
Academy of Sciences 29:144-154.
Lee, J. C. 1985. Anolis sagrei in Florida:
phenetics of a colonizing species I. Meristic characters. Copeia
1985:182-194.
Lee, J. C. 1987. Anolis sagrei in Florida:
phenetics of a colonizing species. II: morphometric characters.
Copeia 1987:458-469.
Means, D. B. 1990a. Anolis sagrei (Brown anole).
Herpetological Review 21:96.
Means, D. B. 1996. Anolis sagrei (brown anole).
Herpetological Review 27:151-152.
Meylan, P. A. 1977. Hemidactylus turcicus
(Mediterranean gecko). Herpetological Review 8:39.
Myers, S. 1978d. Anolis sagrei (brown anole).
Herpetological Review 9:107-108.
Oliver, J. A. 1948. The anoline lizards of Bimini,
Bahamas. American Museum Novitates No. 1383. 36pp.
Oliver, J. A. 1950. Anolis sagrei in Florida.
Copeia 1950:55-56.
Stevenson, D., and D. Crowe. 1992a. Anolis sagrei
(brown anole). Herpetological Review 23:89.
Townsend, J. H., K. L. Krysko, A. T. Reppas, and C.
M. Sheehy, III. 2002. Noteworthy records for introduced reptiles
and amphibians from Florida, USA. Herpetological Review 33:75.
Winegarner, C. E., W. B. Robertson, Jr., and W.
Hoffman. 1984. Anolis sagrei sagrei (brown anole). Herpetological
Review 15:77-78.
Wygoda, M. L., and J. R. Bain. 1980. Anolis sagrei
(Cuban brown anole). Herpetological Review 11:115.
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