Anolis gundlachi Peters, 1877

Taxonomic Identity

Anolis gundlachi (Peters, 1877) is a medium-sized, sexually dimorphic lizard.

Snout-to-Vent Length

Adult males reach a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 68 mm (2.7 in), while adult females have an SVL of 45 mm (1.8 in).

Weight

Adult individuals weigh between 3 and 7 grams.

Body Coloration

Their bodies are brown or olive-brown, with random brown spots along their length.

Distinctive Physical Features

This species has a yellow-brown dewlap and blue eyes, and males have crested tails.

Geographic Range

This lizard is native to Puerto Rico, where it occurs in the inner rainforests of the Luquillo mountains in northeastern Puerto Rico.

Altitudinal Range

It lives at altitudes ranging from 244 to 1,158 m (801 to 3,799 ft).

Perching Habit

A. gundlachi is a trunk-ground lizard, meaning it primarily lives and perches on the lower sections of large tree trunks; it rarely climbs more than 5 m (16 ft) above the ground.

Perching Preference Benefits

Its preference for wide, woody vegetation helps it stay hidden from predators, supports better locomotion, and lets it scan a larger area of its territory.

Sleep-Site Fidelity

Individuals of A. gundlachi have been observed returning to roughly the same location to sleep each night, indicating that the species maintains a specific designated sleep-site within its territory.

Pre-Sleep Behavior

Around 15 minutes before sunset, an individual approaches its sleep site, then lies horizontally on a leaf with its snout pointed toward the stem, and remains there until dawn.

Anti-Predation Sleep Adaptation

Remaining immobile on the leaf helps the lizard avoid predation, as individuals displaced from their sleeping sites are often preyed on by nocturnal predators.

Sleep-Site Plant Characteristics

The plants A. gundlachi selects as sleep sites are usually adult trees taller than 1 m (3.3 ft) with woody stems and branches.

Sleep-Site Selection Driver

Sleep-site selection depends on plant availability rather than any specific plant attribute.

Sleep-Site Height Correlation

Only lizards with an SVL above 40 mm (1.6 in) use plants taller than one meter, and there is a positive correlation between sleep-site height and lizard size.

Juvenile Sleep-Site Differences

This means juveniles choose differently than adults when it comes to sleep-site height on a plant.

Reproductive Mode

Anolis gundlachi is an oviparous lizard, so its offspring hatch from eggs laid by the mother.