Brown Anole Facts

Video Transcript

"Here we have a brown anole, its scientific name is norops sagrei. The brown anole is an invasive species in the United States, and it's found from southern Georgia and Florida to the southern tip of Mexico and the Caribbeans. They are actually native to Cuba and the Bahamas, and they were most likely introduced to these areas by escaped pets and as stowaways on planes and ships. They are quite small, about one and a half inches to three inches in length. They have a notably shorter snout than most anoles, and they have these very long claws. They have little fibers on the surface of their feet to help them stick to smooth surfaces like glass and even texturized surfaces. The most recognizable on the brown anole is this beautiful orange and red dewlap you see here. The dewlap is used by the male anole in territorial displays and courtship displays. The female also possesses a dewlap but it is not necessarily used. You can distinguish the brown anole from its native relative the green anole because the green anole has a much more pointed snout, and the green anole has a pink dewlap not this orange and red that you see here. Little is known about their reproductive behavior, except for the fact that they generally mate year round and females don't have to mate every mating season, as they have the ability to store sperm for a long length of time. They eat a variety of foods including insects such as beetles, spiders, flies, and various invertebrates. Very interesting fact about these guys is they're invasive and in areas of southern Florida where they've now taken over we see a large decline in the green anole population and this is so because they're very closely related, they require much the same habitat and food source, and they're good, you know they seem to be better competitors at pushing the green anole out, and they actually eat some of the green anole hatchlings."