Have you ever seen an Anolis quite like this?

This is a striking variation on the Anolis lizard theme with an extended premaxilla/snout. Meet Anolis proboscis, aka the Pinocchio lizard. This trait is restricted to males and this species was thought to be extinct for several decades. Click here or on the image to learn more.

Figure 1. Long-nosed Anolis from the Luke Mahler lab.

Figure 1. Long-nosed Anolis from the Luke Mahler lab. Only males have this trait.  Click to learn more.

The image comes from the Luke Mahler website. Dr. Mahler is a former student of Jonathan Losos, now at Harvard, formerly of Washington University, here in St. Louis. Jonathan’s work with Anolis has shed new light on the process of evolution.

References
Poe et al. 2012.
Morphology, Phylogeny, and Behavior of Anolis proboscis. Breviora Number 530 :1-11. 2012 online here and here.

1 thought on “Have you ever seen an Anolis quite like this?

  1. Nature is so weird and so awesome at the same time! I love the fact that this is a species that was presumed for several years to be extinct, until a living specimen was found. Beautiful photo, too.

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