Anolis
| Anolis | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Green anole (Anolis carolinensis) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Polychrotidae |
| Genus: |
Anolis Daudin, 1802 |
| Species | |
|
ca. 390 spp., see text |
|
ca. 390 spp., see text
Anolis, or anoles, is a genus of iguanian (anole) lizards belonging to the family Dactyloidae. With 391 species, Anolis represents the world's most species-rich amniote tetrapod genus.
This very large genus displays considerable paraphyly, but phylogenetic analysis suggests a number of subgroups or clades.
These include;
Several species of Anolis are occasionally ascribed to the genus Norops, but the validity of Norops is not widely accepted. Several species often listed under Anolis have been ascribed to the genus Phenacosaurus, but recent work places them in the clade Dactyloa (Dactyloa heteroderma species group).
The green anole (Anolis carolinensis) has recently become the first reptile to have its complete genome sequenced.
Closely related, recently diverged anole lizards exhibited more divergence in thermal biology than in morphology. These anole lizards are thought to have the same structural niche and have similarities in their size and shape. However they inhabited different climatic niches in which there was variability in temperature and openness of the environment. This suggests that thermal physiology is more associated with recently diverged anole lizards.
Anolis lizards are some of the best examples of both adaptive radiation and convergent evolution. Populations of lizards on isolated islands diverge to occupy separate ecological niches, mostly in terms of the location within the vegetation where they forage (such as in the crown of trees vs. the trunk vs. underlying shrubs). These divergences in habitat are accompanied by morphological changes primarily related to moving on the substrate diameter they most frequently encounter, with twig ecomorphs having short limbs, while trunk ecomorphs have long limbs.
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