Saturday, August 1, 2009

Anoles!

The enclosed photos are taken on my sister Sheri's porch in San Antonio, Texas. She pointed out the anole (ah-noal-ee) sitting on her Norfolk Island Pine. When first spotted above, it was definitely a brownish color. She pointed out they can change color tints and indeed, a few minutes later after getting my macro lens for the lower shot, it had shifted to a definite greenish. A quick Google search indicates it is a green anole (Anolis Carolinensis), the only anole native to the US. Interesting, other species grow in the states, but are escaped or released pets. And while it can shift colors between green and brown, depending on background, temperature and stress, they are unrelated to chameleons. They are small compared to Arizona lizards, this one was only about 4cm including tail, but the color change was new to me! This was the only wildlife we saw in East Texas except for birds (twice saw a gray fox at Elinor's in West Texas).

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