Florida's Exotic Wildlife. Species detail.
First year: 1966
Extirpated year:
Established status: Populations
are confirmed breeding and apparently self-sustaining for 10 or
more consecutive years.
Estimated Florida range: 1
county At least 10 years, 4 counties Less than 10
years, 1 county Not reported breeding
Statewide trend: Expanding
Threats to natives: Unknown.
Adults are vegetarians, so they do not compete for food with our
native lizards.
Species Account: This native of
the neotropics is found on Key Biscayne and in urban and suburban
areas elsewhere in southern Florida, especially where trees form
dense canopies near water (Dalrymple 1994). However, they can also
be found beneath canal side debris, on downtown sidewalks, and in
urban backyards. When startled, this primarily arboreal species
often drops from limbs of trees and swims or runs quickly away.
Babies are bright green, but adults tend to be grayish green and
may develop orange coloration anteriorly during the breeding
season. The huge dewlap and vertebral crest are largest in males,
which may reach over 1.8 m (6 ft) in length. This species is
extremely popular in the pet trade and is frequently released or
escapes, but specimens typically do not survive the winter except
in southern Florida (Bartlett and Bartlett 1999).
Habitats: Low density suburban
development, areas peripheral to core urban areas, and small towns,
Agricultural habitat, Rockland Hammock
| County |
First Year |
Extirpated Year |
Breeding status |
Notes |
| BROWARD |
2001 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Davie (Townsend et al. 2002) |
| DADE |
1966 |
|
At least 10 years |
Miami area, but not breeding at first (King and Krakauer 1966);
probably breeding since 1980 (Butterfield et al. 1997) |
| LEE |
1990s |
|
Less than 10 years |
Fort Myers (Bartlett and Bartlett 1999); Cape Coral (Krysko et
al., in press) |
| MONROE |
1995 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Coral Reef State Park (Duquesnel 1998); found on various keys
from Key Largo to Stock Island (Krysko et al., in press) and
populations are increasing. |
| PALM BEACH |
2003 |
|
Less than 10 years |
Palm Beach Gardens and Loxahatchee (Krysko et al., in
press) |
| SAINT LUCIE |
2003 |
|
Not reported breeding |
West of Port St. Lucie (G. J. Ward and M. A. Flowers, Vero
Beach, Florida, personal communication) |
References
Bartlett, R. D., and P. P. Bartlett. 1999. A field
guide to Florida reptiles and amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company,
Houston, Texas. 278pp.
Dalrymple, G. H. 1994. Non-indigenous amphibians
and reptiles. Pages 67-71, 73-78 in D. C. Schmitz and T. C. Brown,
project directors. An assessment of invasive non-indigenous species
in Florida's public lands. Florida Department of Environmental
Protection Technical Report No. TSS-94-100, Tallahassee, Florida,
USA.
King, F. W., and T. Krakauer. 1966. The exotic
herpetofauna of southeast Florida. Quarterly Journal of the Florida
Academy of Sciences 29:144-154.
Krysko, K. L., K. M. Enge, J. H. Townsend, E. M.
Langan, S. A. Johnson, and T. S. Campell. In Press. New county
records of amphibians and reptiles from Florida. Herpetological
Review.
Links to more information
The Wild Ones species account
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