''Anolis smaragdinus'', also known
commonly as the Bahamian green anole, is a
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of lizard in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Dactyloidae
Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles (singular anole ) and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat ...
.
The species is native to the
Bahamas
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
. There are two recognized
subspecies
In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...
.
Taxonomy
''A. smaragdinus'' is part of the
''A. carolinensis'' series of anoles.
Geographic range
''A. smaragdinus'' is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to the Bahamas.
Habitat
''A. smaragdinus'' is found in a variety of
habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s, including
forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
,
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
, and introduced vegetation.
[
]
Diet
''A. smaragdinus'' preys upon insects, spiders, and snails, and also eats plant material.[
]
Reproduction
''A. smaragdinus'' is oviparous
Oviparous animals are animals that reproduce by depositing fertilized zygotes outside the body (i.e., by laying or spawning) in metabolically independent incubation organs known as eggs, which nurture the embryo into moving offsprings kno ...
.
Subspecies
Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics ( morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. ...
:
*'' Anolis smaragdinus lerneri''
*'' Anolis smaragdinus smaragdinus''
Etymology
The subspecific name, ''lerneri'', is in honor of American businessman Michael Lerner, a patron of the American Museum of Natural History
The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Located in Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 21 interconn ...
.[ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Anolis smaragdinus lerneri'', pp. 155).]
Taxonomy
''A. smaragdinus'' is a member of the '' A. carolinensis'' species group
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...
.[
]
References
Further reading
* Barbour T, Shreve B (1935). "Concerning some Bahamian reptiles, with notes on the fauna". ''Proceedings of the Boston Natural History Society'' 40: 347–365. (''Anolis smaragdinus'', new species, p. 355).
* Oliver JA (1948). "The Anoline Lizards of Bimini, Bahamas". ''American Museum Novitates'' (1383): 1–36. (''Anolis carolinensis lerneri'', new subspecies, pp. 7–16, Figure 2).
* Schwartz A, Henderson RW (1991). ''Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History''. Gainesville: University of Florida Press. 720 pp. . (''Anolis smaragdinus lerneri'', new combination).
*Schwartz A, Thomas R
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas t ...
(1975). ''A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles''. Carnegie Museum of Natural History
The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, Pit ...
Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (''Anolis smaragdinus'', pp. 104–105).
S
Lizards of the Caribbean
Endemic fauna of the Bahamas
Reptiles of the Bahamas
Reptiles described in 1935
Taxa named by Thomas Barbour
Taxa named by Benjamin Shreve
{{Dactyloidae-stub