A Guide to the Amphibians
and Reptiles of California

Green Anole - Anolis carolinensis

(Voigt, 1832)

Click on a picture for a larger view

This alien lizard appears to be expanding its range in California.
Black dots on the map indicate some of the areas where it has been found and could be established.
Click map for a larger view.

These are just the places that I know about, there are probably more. If you know a location that is not shown on the map or if you see a lizard that looks like this one anywhere in
California that is not shown on this map,
please email me at grynaf@yahoo.com and
send a picture if you can for verification.

Miscellaneous Page

Texas Page

This is an alien species that has been introduced into California. It is not a native species.

Adult male displaying his dewlap, San Diego County © Tom Day

Adult, Redhawk area of Temecula, Western Riverside County, 2010,
from a population of anoles observed since 1993. © Curtis Croulet

Adult, Chino Hills, San Bernardino County © Nate Loftin

Adult found in a Newport Beach, Orange County, backyard. The photographer discovered that this lizard was one of three released in her neighbor's yard. If these lizards survive and breed, they could become established in the neighborhood. That's why it is a bad idea (and against the law) to release non-native reptiles.

Adults from San Diego a few miles northeast of Balboa Park. © Robert Farwell

Adult, San Diego Zoo
© Walter Ray-Dulany

Adult, Carlsbad, San Diego County
© Samantha Blattler

Adults, Huntington Beach, Orange County © Carol Robertson

Adults from Tustin, Orange County

Adult, San Diego Zoo, San Diego County © Caroline Roberti

Adult from Tustin, Orange County © Kevin Strong

Adult male showing the dorsal crest, Laguna Hills, Orange County
© Andrew Hausheer

Adult, Fountain Valley, Orange County
© Eric Lessenger

Adult, Balboa Park, San Diego County
© Brian Flaigmore

Green Anoles, genus Anolis,
have small granular scales.

Habitat

Balboa Park, San Diego County

Green Anoles From Outside California

Adult, Monroe County, Florida

Adult, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

Adult, Miami-Dade County, Florida

Adult male displaying distended pink dewlap, Galveston County, Texas

Adult male displaying distended pink dewlap (left) in green phase, and
moments later, in brown phase (right) Galveston County, Texas

Adult male displaying distended pink dewlap, Galveston County, Texas

Adult, Miami-Dade County, Florida

Adult, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana

A light-phase green anole tried to catch a fly, but failed, Volusia County, Florida

Adult male, Liberty County, Florida

Adult jumping, Broward County, Florida

Adult, Travis County, Texas

Adult, Jasper County, Texas

Short Videos

A male green anole in Chambers County Texas displays his pink dewlap.

A male green anole in Chambers County Texas quickly changes his color from green to brown.

A light-phase green anole in Florida tries to catch a fly, but fails.

Description

Size

Adults are usually 3 inches long from snout to vent, and about 5-8 inches including the tail.

Appearance

A small thin lizard with a long head and snout and a long thin tail.

Color and Pattern

Color varies: at times plain green, brown, or mottled green and brown. Dark streaks or spots may occur, often giving the appearance of a light stripe on the back.
Male dewlap is pink.

Male/Female Differences

Males distend a pink dewlap when trying to attract a female and when displaying their territory.

Life History and Behavior

Diet and Feeding

Small invertebrates and grasses.

Breeding

Breeds from April to August or September.
Males pursue females, bobbing up and down and displaying their colorful dewlap.
Females lay several clutches of eggs during the season, totalling about 10.
Eggs are buried in soft soil or compost.
Eggs hatch in 30 - 45 days.

Habitat

So far, this lizard is known from a park in San Diego California near sea level with many non-native plants and trees, and residential areas with mostly non-native vegetation.

Geographical Range

Native to southern and southeastern North America, from South and Central Texas to the Florida Keys and north to North Carolina, and the southern parts of Tennessee, Arkansas, and Oklahoma.
Introduced into the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California and probably elsewhere.

Green Anoles Found In California

According to Jones, Lawrence, Rob Lovich, editors. Lizards of the American Southwest: A Photographic Field Guide. Rio Nuevo Publishers, 2009, a population of Green Anoles exists at the San Diego Zoo. They are also well-known from Balboa Park which surrounds the zoo.
My personal communications with San Diego County herpers confirms their presence there in 2013.

In a blog post on October 18th, 2013, the Los Angeles Natural History Museum reported a population of Green anoles in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles. They added four specimens from Hancock Park to the museum on October first.

There is an internet forum report of Green Anoles inhabiting a park in Carlsbad in San Diego County on FieldherpForum, with several pictures. I have also received information of a sighting of a single anole in the Rancho Carrillo area of Carlsbad.

There is a voucher specimen in the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History collection of a lizard found in Northridge in 1980.

Some locations where this anole has been seen in California

Many of these locations are areas that have been reported to me since I put up this page in 2013. This species may or may not be established in all of these areas. I will continue to add locations here and on the map as I hear of them. If you see any or know of any locations not on this list, please email me.

Los Angeles County

Los Angeles - Hancock Park
Northridge

Orange County

Cypress
Fountain Valley
Huntington Beach
Huntington Harbor
Irvine
Laguna Hills
Laguna Niguel
Tustin

Riverside County

Menifee
Temecula

San Bernardino County

Chino Hills

San Diego County

Carlsbad
Escondido
San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido

San Diego
- Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo
- near the stadium
- City Heights neighborhood

San Marcos
Vista

Notes on Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recognized:
Anolis carolinensis carolinensis
Anolis carolinensis seminolus

Conservation Issues (Conservation Status)

Any alien species may pose a threat to native wildlife.

Taxonomy
Family	Dactyloidae	Anoles	Fitzinger, 1843
Genus	Anolis (Norops)	Anoles	Daudin, 1802
Species	Anolis	carolinensis	(Voigt, 1832)
Original Description
Anolis Daudin, 1803 - Hist. Nat. Rept., Vol. 4, p. 50 Anolis carolinensis (Voigt, 1832) - in Cuvier's Thierreich, Vol. 2, p. 71 from Original Description Citations for the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America © Ellin Beltz
Meaning of the Scientific Name
West Indian anoli lizard — Native Antillean name carolinensis - belonging to the Carolinas - refers to the area where it was originally discovered. from Scientific and Common Names of the Reptiles and Amphibians of North America - Explained © Ellin Beltz
Alternate Names
Carolina Anole American Chameleon Red-throated Anole American Anole
Related or Similar California Herps
No native lizards are related, or green in color, but the brown phase is somewhat similar in shape and size and color to Urosaurus graciosus - Long-tailed Brush Lizard and Urosaurus ornatus - Tree Lizard
More Information and References
Robert Powell, Roger Conant, and Joseph T. Collins. Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America. Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016. Conant, Roger, and Joseph T. Collins. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians Eastern and Central North America. Third Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998. Smith, Hobart M. Handbook of Lizards, Lizards of the United States and of Canada. Cornell University Press, 1946. R. D. Bartlett, Patricia P. Bartlett. A Field Guide to Florida Reptiles and Amphibians. Gulf Publishing Company. 1999.

Conservation Status
The following status listings come from the Special Animals List and the Endangered and Threatened Animals List which are published by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
Organization	Status Listing
NatureServe Global Ranking
NatureServe State Ranking
U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA)	none
California Endangered Species Act (CESA)	none
California Department of Fish and Wildlife	none
Bureau of Land Management	none
USDA Forest Service	none
IUCN

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