 Click the map for a larger view
Black dots on the map indicate some of the areas where this species has been found and could be established. This alien lizard appears to be expanding its range in California. It is very likely to be found in other areas not shown here.
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| List of Alien Herps in California |
More Pictures:
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This species has been introduced into California. It is not a native species.
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| Adult in green phase |
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| Adult in brown phase |
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| 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 |
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| 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. |
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Adults from San Diego a few miles northeast of Balboa Park. © Robert Farwell
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Adult, San Diego Zoo
© Walter Ray-Dulany |
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Adult, Carlsbad, San Diego County
© Samantha Blattler |
Adults, Huntington Beach, Orange County © Carol Robertson |
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| Adults from Tustin, Orange County |
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| Adult, San Diego Zoo, San Diego County © Caroline Roberti |
Adult from Tustin, Orange County © Kevin Strong |
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Adult male showing the dorsal crest, Laguna Hills, Orange County
© Andrew Hausheer |
Adult, Fountain Valley, Orange County
© Eric Lessenger |
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Adult, Balboa Park, San Diego County
© Brian Flaigmore |
Tiny juvenile, Chula Vista, San Diego County © Stan Budz |
This picture shows how well this lizard can blend in with its surroundings. Often they turn brown when they're on a brown surface, but this one remains green which makes it look like one of the leaves and vines. © Stan Budz |
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Adult, San Diego County
© Chris DeGroof |
Brown phase adult, San Diego County
© Chris DeGroof |
Green Anoles, genus Anolis,
have small granular scales. |
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| Habitat |
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One of the first places this species was known to have been established in California was at the San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego County. |
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| Green Anoles From Outside California |
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| Adult, Jasper County, Texas |
Adult, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana |
Adult, Miami-Dade County, Florida |
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| 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 |
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| Adult male displaying distended pink dewlap, Galveston County, Texas |
Adult, Miami-Dade County, Florida |
Adult, Jefferson Parish, Louisiana |
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| 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 |
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| Adult, Travis County, Texas |
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| Short Videos |
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| 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. |
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| Description |
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| Size |
Adults are usually 3 inches long from snout to vent, and about 5-8 inches including the tail.
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| Appearance |
| A small thin lizard with a long head and snout and a long thin tail. |
| Color and Pattern |
Skin color varies: at times it's plain green, plain brown, or mottled green and brown.
Dark streaks or spots may occur, often giving the appearance of a light stripe on the back.
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| Male/Female Differences |
Males can extend a pink dewlap (a pouch on the throat) when trying to attract a female and when displaying their territory. Sometimes the dewlap appears to be orange or red.
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| Life History and Behavior |
Diet and Feeding |
| Small invertebrates and grasses. |
| Reproduction |
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.
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| Habitat |
This lizard is known from parks and residential yards and gardens, where it adapts well to non-native vegetation.
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| 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.
Origin of Green Anoles Found In California
Most likely, Green Anoles found in the wild in California were captive lizards that either escaped or were released. Green Anoles are common pet store animals, usually sold as pets or as food for lizard-eating reptiles. It is also possible that anoles or anole eggs could have been transported in shipments from their native range in Southeast North America. Eggs buried in the soil of potted plants is one possible method of transport. In areas where they have been established for a number of years, the anoles most likely represent the offspring of adults that were introduced years earlier. As Green Anoles spread more widely around California, it's possible they could also be transported from one California location to another.
Some Early Documented Populations in California
I don't know when and where this species was first documented in the state. The species is not mentioned in Robert Stebbins' 1972 book on California Amphibians and Reptiles or in the 2012 edition.
The earliest record I can find is a 1980 record in the Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History from Northridge, listed as "escaped captive brought in by cat" though it does not state who kept the anole captive.
For many years a population of Green Anoles has been established at the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park which surrounds the zoo. This might represent the first established population in the state, but I'm not sure of that.
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.
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INaturalist includes a large list of observations of this species around the world with a map that will let you zoom in to see locations in California.
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Some Locations Where Wild Green Anoles Have Been Seen in California
Green Anoles
may not be established in all of these areas. These are only the areas I have heard about so far from museum records, email, or iNaturalist records. I don't know of every sighting, so they are very likely to be found and possibly established in other areas not included on this list. Eventually they will probably range throughout much of coastal Southern California along with the Brown Anole. I will continue to add locations here and on the map as I learn of them. If you see any wild Green Anoles in California or know about any locations that are not on this list, please email me.
Kern County
Bakersfield
Los Angeles County
Beverly Hills
Carson
Claremont
Hollywood Hills
Long Beach
Los Angeles - Hancock Park, Palms
Northridge
Palos Verdes Estates
Orange County
Aliso Viejo
Anaheim
Costa Mesa
Cypress
Dana Point
El Camino Real
Fountain Valley
Halecrest
Huntington Beach
Huntington Harbor
Irvine
Laguna Beach
Laguna Hills
Laguna Niguel
Lower Peters Canyon
Mission Viejo
Newport Beach
Santa Ana Heights
Seal Beach
Tustin
Yorba Linda
Westminster
Woodbridge
Riverside County
Menifee
Temecula
San Bernardino County
Chino Hills
San Diego County
Carlsbad
Carmel Valley
Chula Vista
El Cajon
Escondido
Otay Mesa West
Rancho San Diego
San Diego Zoo Safari Park near Escondido
San Diego:
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Balboa Park, San Diego Zoo, and in the surrounding neighborhood
- Mission Hills
- Mission Valley
- City Heights neighborhood
San Marcos
Poway
Santee
Torrey Pines
Vista
Santa Clara County
San Jose
Ventura County
Thousand Oaks
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| Notes on Taxonomy |
Two subspecies have been recognized:
Anolis carolinensis carolinensis
Anolis carolinensis seminolus
SSAR Herpetological Circular No. 43, 2017 reports that these subspecies don't follow recent genetics studies and should no longer be recognized. However, it also reports that there is a possibility that A. carolinensis consists of more than one subspecies.
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| Conservation Issues (Conservation Status) |
The impact of this invasive species on native California lizards and other wildlife is not well known, however native lizards observed living in proximity with this species might suffer from the extra competition.
"Repeated surveys at other Southern California localities where nonnative Anolis carolinensis, Anolis sagrei, and Podarcis siculus occur have shown displacement of S. occidentalis as nonnative populations expand (Pauly, unpubl. data)."
(Gregory B. Pauly and Patrick D. Gavid. Geographical Distribution Note for Trachylepis quinquetaeniata in Los Angeles County. Herpetological Review 50(1), 2019.) |
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Taxonomy |
| Family |
Dactyloidae |
Anoles |
Fitzinger, 1843 |
| Genus |
Anolis (Norops) |
Anoles |
Daudin, 1802 |
Species
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Anolis |
carolinensis |
(Voigt, 1832) |
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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
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Meaning of the Scientific Name
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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
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Alternate Names
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Carolina Anole
American Chameleon
Red-throated Anole
American Anole
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Related or Similar California Herps
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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
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More Information and References
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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.
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| Conservation Status |
The following conservation status listings for this animal are taken from the November 2020 California "Special Animals List" and the November 2020 "State and Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Animals of California" list, both of which are produced by multiple agencies and available here: https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Data/CNDDB/Plants-and-Animals. You can check the link to see if there are more recent lists.
If no status is listed here, the animal is not included on either list. This most likely indicates that there are no serious conservation concerns for the animal. To find out more about an animal's status you can go to the NatureServe and IUCN websites to check their rankings.
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| Organization |
Status Listing |
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| NatureServe Global Ranking |
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| NatureServe State Ranking |
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| U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) |
none |
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| California Endangered Species Act (CESA) |
none |
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| California Department of Fish and Wildlife |
none |
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| Bureau of Land Management |
none |
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| USDA Forest Service |
none |
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| IUCN |
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