Anolis trinitatis
System : Terrestrial
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Animalia
Chordata
Reptilia
Polychrotidae
- General
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Common name
Trinidad anole (English), Saint Vincent's bush anole (English)
Synonym
Anolis vincenti , Garman, 1887
Anolis trinitatis , Schwartz & Henderson, 1991
Anolis trinitatus , [sic] Creer et al., 2001
Anolis trinitatus , [sic] Nicholson et al., 2005
Anolis trinitatis , Schwartz & Henderson, 1991
Anolis trinitatus , [sic] Creer et al., 2001
Anolis trinitatus , [sic] Nicholson et al., 2005
Similar species
Summary
St. Vincent's bush anole, Anolis trinitatis has been introduced and established on Trinidad since the early 1800's along with the similar and also introduced bronze anole A. aeneus. Anolis trinitatis is less widespread and common than A. aeneus. While this was once thought to be due to competition and hybridisation, it is now thought to be due to the requirement of A. trinitatis for well-vegetated habitat and increasing levels of urban development.
Species Description
Anolis trinitatis is ecologically ubiquitous (Hite et al., 2008; in Hailey et al., 2009). It is variable in colour in its native range. Males can grow up to 74 mm from snout to vent (Hailey et al., 2009). Introduced individuals on Trinidad are almost always bright green implying that the orignal population were from well-vegetated areas; the reduction in genetic variability within this population was also documented by Gorman et al. (1978). A requirement for well-vegetated areas and increasing urban development have been hypothesised to be responsible for the now limited distribution and abundance of A. trinitatis on Trinidad (Hailey, et al., 2009).
Notes
Introduced populations of Anolis trinitatis on Trinidad were only recognised as a separate species from the introduced bronze anole (A. aeneus) in the 1950's (Kenny and Quesnel, 1959; in Hailey et al., 2009). Other introduced anoles on Trinidad include Watt's anole (A. wattsi) and the Barbados anole (A. extremus) the presence of which has not been reported since 1982 (Hailey et al., 2009).
Habitat Description
Although noted as ecologically ubiquitous in its native range, the decline of Anolis trinitatis on Trinidad has been hypothesised to be due to a requirement for well vegetated areas and an increase in urban development (Hailey et al., 2009).
Principal source:
Compiler: IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group (ISSG) with support from the Overseas Territories Environmental Programme (OTEP) project XOT603, a joint project with the Cayman Islands Government - Department of Environment
Review:
Publication date: 2010-06-29
Recommended citation: Global Invasive Species Database (2024) Species profile: Anolis trinitatis. Downloaded from http://iucngisd.org/gisd/species.php?sc=1675 on 23-12-2024.
