Anolis poncensis

Ponce anole
In Ponce, Puerto Rico
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Anolidae
Genus: Anolis
Species:
A. poncensis
Binomial name
Anolis poncensis
Stejneger, 1904
Synonyms
  • Ctenonotus poncensis Nicholson, et al., 2012

Anolis poncensis (commonly known as Ponce small-fanned anole, Ponce anole and dryland grass anole;) is a species of lizard of the family of Dactyloidae. The species is endemic to Puerto Rico. It was first identified in Ponce, in the hills three miles east of the city. The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources considers it a "vulnerable species".

Description

The body of this anole is longer and more slender than other grass Anoles. It has distinguishing brownish dorsum, greenish sides, blue eyes, a small white dewlap, a short pale lateral line, and a number of black spots behind the eyes. Males grow up to 44 mm (1.7 in) and females up to 40 mm (1.6 in).

Anolis poncensis diagram from Stejneger, L. "The herpetology of Porto Rico". Rept. United States Natl. Mus. 1902: pp. 666. (1904).

Distribution

This species is endemic to Puerto Rico. Its distribution is rather small, being limited to the arid and semi-arid western half of the southern coast of the island. It was identified and catalogued in 1902 by Leonhard Stejneger, a curator with the Division of Reptiles and Batrachians of the United States National Museum.

Etymology

Its species name, consisting of "ponce" plus the Latin suffix -nsis, was given in reference to the place of its discovery, the city of Ponce. Its discovery and documentation were originally published in Stejneger, 1904: "The herpetology of Porto Rico".

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ There are no hills east of Ponce; all hills near Ponce are either north or west of Ponce. As the map on page 619 of this following source (https://faculty.unlv.edu/jrodriguez/39.pdf [Living together but remaining apart: comparative phylogeography of Anolis poncensis and A. cooki, two lizards endemic to the aridlands of Puerto Rico]) shows, as well as the location descriptions ("El Tuque", etc.,) given there (example: p. 621), the habitat for this species is clearly in the hills --and drylands-- west (not east) of Ponce, and, as such, Stejneger 1904's documentation appears to be a typo, most likely due to human directional interpretation error.

References

  1. ↑ Mahler, D.L.; Rodriguez, C. (2020). "Anolis poncensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T75084791A75171781. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T75084791A75171781.en. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 Stejneger, Leonhard (1904). "The herpetology of Porto Rico". Rept. United States Natl. Mus. 1902. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.11835.
  3. ↑ "Anolis poncensis (Stejneger, 1904)". Global Biodiversity Information Facility. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "Anolis poncensis". The Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  5. 1 2 Anolis poncensis at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 13 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "PUERTO RICO: Checklist of Endemic Reptile Species". Living National Treasures. 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  7. 1 2 "Construccion de Infraestructuras Minimas Recreativas y Educativas en la Reserva Natural Punta Cucharas: Evaluacion Ambiental: Punta Cucharas" (PDF). Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales de Puerto Rico. October 2012. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016.
  8. 1 2 Raymond Huey (2016). "Vulnerability of Tropical Ectotherms to Climate Warming". Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  9. ↑ Schwartz & Henderson (1991). Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Florida University Press.
  10. ↑ Michele Johnson (2013). "Lizards may be smarter than you think". Trinity University. Archived from the original on 5 July 2022.

Further reading