Monday, May 04, 2009

A Lounge of Lizards ... Well, Not Really.


What's real in the photo above?


We humans just naturally like fellow animals that look us in the eye ... that explains the appeal of ducks, pigs, and Labrador Retrievers ... and yes, your non Lab dogs too.
(Your cat is looking at your carotid arteries and calculating ... it only appears to be looking you in the eye)
Anoles have this down to an art with their swivelly orbs. This one was sunning at my Mom and Dad's Saturday while I was pond digging.

It's worth an enlarging click on this pic to enjoy the beautiful texture and colors of anole scales.


Stumpy is just one of the (TOO) many brown anoles which are here to stay in Florida. The Carolina Anole in the first 3 shots is a native species, and yes, they can turn brown using their chromatophores, but the Brown Anole is an introduced species.
The one in the photo has recently lost his tail, but he's not letting that stop him from showing off in a territorial display of throat patch flashing and head bobbing.
Stumpy hung out around me the entire time I worked on the pond. I think I was probably stirring up bugs, and I know I was uncovering earthworms often.
He just lounged around with his pals while I worked.


14 comments:

nfmgirl said...

I've got my own "Stumpy" at my place. I was laughing at his tail the other day, which is growing in funny. It's about 1 1/2-2 inches long now, but it is needle thin, and sticking out of this blunt stub. Funny looking. He's a brave (or perhaps stupid) brown (Cuban Brown Anole, right?), as he doesn't run when you come by. He's come close to getting stepped on a couple of times. Me thinks that he may get picked off by a bird or snake before his tail grows out!

Kittikity said...

I used to catch the stumpy kind when I was a kid and do goofy things like use them as earrings.. Stupid kid stuff..

This may sound gross, but I once peeled the skin off a dead one to see what the inside looked like..

Sayre said...

I love the green anoles... When we lived in a mobile home, they nested under the siding. It was so cute to walk out in the mornings and see rows of little green heads sticking out from the bottom of the siding. Sometimes it seemed like hundreds!

kathy a. said...

stumpy was probably watching to make sure you didn't eat his food.

robin andrea said...

Now those are the kind of lounging lizards I wouldn't mind watching. Love the detail in those scales. Great shots, fc.

Sandcastle Momma said...

My boys kept 2 green anoles in a tank in our living room for months. They fed them live crickets. It's amazing how funny and social they are. They would run and play with each other and were very interesting to watch.

Paintsmh said...

Ohhh I think I want one!

lisa said...

Awesome, I love your pictures. I did enlarge the lizard and it is neat.

jean said...

I love your cat commentary!

tsiya said...

The Cuban Anoles only seem to have made it just west of I-95, none here on the hammock yet. They are dominant at the agriculture center, so it's only a matter of time. Some severe freezes would slow them down, they can't survive as much cold as our Green anoles can.
Old Florida is just slip sliding away!

Pablo said...

Can anoles see in color? How do they and other such critters know what colors to change to?

R.Powers said...

nfmgirl,
Sounds like this Stumpy!

Kitty,
I think the ear ring lizard thing may be universal wherever anoles are found.

Sayre,
The are waaaay more appealing than many lizards. I think it is the way they look at you.

Kathy A,
Could be, but his worms were safe!

Robin,
I can't help but see Saturday Night Live lounge lizard skits when I use that phrase.

SCM,
They really are pretty easy to keep in captivity. They get in the house pretty often actually.

Paint,
A shame you don't have them up there!

Lisa,
Thanks! I love their scale patterns.

Jean,
No one took the bait ... they know I'm just playing ... sorta.


Tsiya,
The greens are moving into the trees and surrendering the ground to the browns... at least here it looks that way.

Pablo,
I honestly don't know ... they may only see shades the way cuttlefish do. If I were a betting man, I would say they do see color since the color seems to be a mood signal and the red throat flap is ... well, red.

tsiya said...

I had one little green who would drop from over the screen door, and land on my shoulder. I smacked yellow flies and he would take them from my fingers. Sometimes he would jump up on my hand to get a better grip on a fly. That is evidence of some intelligence in my book, instinct surely didn't play a role. I got a few pics of him in action in my photobucket gallery. I know you're not supposed to get attached to wild things, but I really do miss that lizard!

R.Powers said...

Tsiya,
That is too cool. I have no problem getting attached to a lizard.