Ghost Anole
Anolis (Norops) cf. lemurinus
Natural History:
The Ghost Anole has a rather large range, stretching from as far north as Mexico, south to Columbia. This wide range allows for a large amount of genetic diversity within different populations. This genetic diversity can be easily seen with some individuals being brown, others green and many with different patterns running down their back.
This variability in appearance makes it difficult to properly identify an individual without looking at the colour of the dewlap. Anoles have a protrusion of skin under their chin which when extended displays a flash of colour. This colour is used for non-verbal communication between anoles of the same species to determine which individual has breeding rights or over territory. Each species of anole has a different coloured dewlap and without knowing the exact colouration it can make identification next to impossible.
In binomial nomenclature if an organism cannot be properly identified it is common in paleontology to insert the abbreviation for confer; "cf." between the genus and species name to signify that it may not be that species but instead a closely related species. This is done here due to the lack of certainty that the individual photographed is a Ghost Anole or rather a closely related species.
In the 1980s it was suggested that anoles in the genus; Anolis should be separated into five new genera such as the genus Norops. This change in nomenclature is not widely used due to the large amount of uncertainty about the relatedness of different species within Anolis. The use of the genus Norops is not commonly used outside of Central America although it is still widely used within Costa Rica when describing native species.
The Ghost Anole has a rather large range, stretching from as far north as Mexico, south to Columbia. This wide range allows for a large amount of genetic diversity within different populations. This genetic diversity can be easily seen with some individuals being brown, others green and many with different patterns running down their back.
This variability in appearance makes it difficult to properly identify an individual without looking at the colour of the dewlap. Anoles have a protrusion of skin under their chin which when extended displays a flash of colour. This colour is used for non-verbal communication between anoles of the same species to determine which individual has breeding rights or over territory. Each species of anole has a different coloured dewlap and without knowing the exact colouration it can make identification next to impossible.
In binomial nomenclature if an organism cannot be properly identified it is common in paleontology to insert the abbreviation for confer; "cf." between the genus and species name to signify that it may not be that species but instead a closely related species. This is done here due to the lack of certainty that the individual photographed is a Ghost Anole or rather a closely related species.
In the 1980s it was suggested that anoles in the genus; Anolis should be separated into five new genera such as the genus Norops. This change in nomenclature is not widely used due to the large amount of uncertainty about the relatedness of different species within Anolis. The use of the genus Norops is not commonly used outside of Central America although it is still widely used within Costa Rica when describing native species.