Banded Anole

Appearance

This species of anole is a small lizard, adults measuring 40 to 44 mm from snout to vent in males, in females to 46 mm.

The male does not have a dorsal crest or tail fin which is common in many of the anole lizards of Puerto Rico. The species' range of color is from gray to brownish gray. It has a pale colored, hour-glass shaped spots from the nape of its neck to its tail, and also has a black, crescent-shaped patch behind the eye. It has distinct black or darker markings running down the nape of its neck and its back, which are more noticeable on males. Its flanks are marked with small dark spots. The throat of this anole has raised brown ridges and the dewlap color is orange with light yellow scales, or "bright orange and yellow toward the margins". The dewlap is rather large. The tail is slightly compressed, with the eight or nine vertical rows of weakly keeled scales being arranged in a clearly whorled or verticillate pattern, and the upper margin of the tail being strongly toothed. The tail measures 51 to 75 mm in length.

In females the dewlap much smaller than it is in the male, and it is colored gray, with some pale orange in the centre near the throat. Unlike in many other anoles, in this species the juveniles have the same coloration and color patterns as do the adults. Reinhardt and Lütken provide a comparison table of anatomical dimensions of the males and females, with the females being slightly smaller in all measured characteristics according to them.

It has four or five rows of loreal scales. There are zero to one scales between the supraorbital ridges, and one to three scales between the interparietal and supraorbital semicircular area. There are six postrostral scales, six postmental scales, and the subocular scales are in broad contact with the supralabial scales. The supradigital scales only have a single keel.

Naming

Cope states that the etymology of the specific epithet, "stratulus", which he chose for this lizard in his 1862 description of the species, was derived from the diminutive of the Latin language word "stratus", which he states he chose for its meaning of 'saddled'. Cope chooses the descriptive name 'saddled' because according to him the species has four characteristic dark brown transverse bars across its back, and another across its tail. Cope had access to limited specimens, and perhaps those he examined had these markings, but in the description published by Reinhardt and Lütken, they state that this pattern is often not apparent, especially in specimens where the dark brown spots dominate.Juveniles may be confused with those of "Anolis evermanni" "in situ". Adults of "A. evermanni" are emerald green, but the juveniles of this species have the same cryptic coloration as this species. The juveniles of these two species can be distinguished by the colors of the head and neck. These are uniformly gray in this species, but in "A. evermanni" are greenish gray.

In his original description of 1862 Cope considered this species to be most similar to "A. alligator", based mostly on the shape of the head, which is now in modern times is considered a synonym of "A. roquet" and is not considered particularly closely related to this species at all. On the other hand Reinhardt and Lütken find it most similar to the also Puerto Rican "A. pulchellus" in its dewlap, and they also compare it to juvenile "A. cristatellus", but mention that this species can be distinguished by the darker backsides, and a longer, differently shaped head; both these species are now indeed thought to be closely related to "A. stratulus". As with all anoles, the pattern of scales on the head are diagnostic.In some regions, such as El Yunque National Forest, "A. cristatellus" occurs together with up to seven other species of anole which are able to occur sympatrically with it because each species occupies a different ecological niche. In the Los Tres Picachos State Forest it occurs together with "A. cristatellus", "A. cuvieri", "A. evermanni", "A. gundlachi", "A. krugi", "A. occultus" and "A. pulchellus". Besides "A. pulchellus", these other seven anoles often occur together throughout Puerto Rico.

Distribution

This species has one of the widest natural distributions of all the anoles of Puerto Rico and this range includes the many islands surrounding it such a Vieques and Culebra. In Puerto Rico it is commonly found in the Maricao State Forest, the Guánica State Forest, and the Luquillo Mountains. It has been described as "very common" in Los Tres Picachos State Forest where it is more common than the "common anole", "Anolis cristatellus". It is the most abundant anole at mid-elevations in Puerto Rico. It is less common in the northwestern part of Puerto Rico. It is also present in Cayo Santiago and Isla Piñeros. On the islet of Cayo Santiago and the nearby southern coastal regions of Puerto Rico, such as the city of Ponce, it is also less common than "A. cristatellus". The barred anole is also found, but to a lesser extent, in the coffee plantations of the barrios of Sabana Grande, Vivi Arriba, and Mameye. It is also seen in the municipality of Utuado, and in the barrios of Cialito and Pozas in Ciales.

Outside of Puerto Rico the species can be found in the British Virgin Islands, where it has been recorded on Anegada, Beef Island, Fallen Jerusalem Island, Ginger Island, Great Camanoe, Great Thatch, Guana Island, Jost van Dyke, Little Jost Van Dyke, Little Thatch, Marina Cay, Mosquito Island, Necker Island, Norman Island, Peter Island, Prickly Pear Island, Saba Rock, Salt Island, Scrub Island, Tortola and Virgin Gorda.

It is a commonly observed animal in the northern United States Virgin Islands, specifically the north side of St. Thomas. It has furthermore been recorded on Bovoni Cay, Cas Cay, Congo Cay, Flanagan Island, Great St. James, Inner Brass, Leduck Island, Little St. James, Lovango Cay, Mingo Cay, Outer Brass, Patricia Cay, Prickly Pear Cay, Saba Island, Savana Island, St. John, Stephen Cay Thatch Cay, Trunk Cay, Water Island and Whistling Cay. It does not occur on the largest island of the territory, Saint Croix to the south.

Status

This is a very common species in many parts of Puerto Rico, where it may occur at densities of thousands to tens of thousands per acre. One estimate puts it at 21,500 per hectare.

The IUCN has not evaluated this species' conservation status....hieroglyph snipped...

It has been recorded as present in the following protected areas:
⤷ Guánica State Forest, Puerto Rico, USA.
⤷ Reserva Forestal de Maricao, Puerto Rico, USA.
⤷ Los Tres Picachos State Forest, Puerto Rico, USA.
⤷ Virgin Islands National Park, U.S. Virgin Islands, USA.
⤷ El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico, USA.

Behavior

It is oviparous. It can change color. The color pattern of spots and markings makes it well-camouflaged against the lichen-spotted tree bark on which it commonly resides. The lizard prefers smaller branches and individuals have a small range, only venturing around a territory of no more than 6 meters for foraging and mating. This species has a population turnover of 1.4 years.

It is diurnal. It is not shy, especially the males, and they let humans come quite close -showing their dewlap as an observer approaches.

Food

"A. stratulus" has a diet consisting of mainly ants, but also consumes other insects such as beetles and flies, as well as land snails and spiders. It has been found to eat more during the rainy season than during the dry season.

On the Guana Island a male lizard was observed to climb into a flowering "Pedilanthus tithymaloides", where for a period of over ten minutes it proceeded to lap up the droplets sweet nectar being extruded from the red flowers of this plant.