Classification: Introduced Species

Description: The brown anole is normally a light brown color with darker brown to black markings on its back, and several tan to light color lines on its sides. Like other anoles, it can change color, in this case a darker brown to black. Its dewlap ranges from yellow to orange-red.

Brown anoles are typically 5.0 to 8.5 inches long. The males can grow as large as their male Carolina anole counterparts, around 7.0 to 8.0 inches long, with some individuals topping 9.0 inches. The females are also around the size of female Carolina anoles, which ranges from 3.0 to 5.9 inches. The male brown anole's head is smaller than that of the male Carolina anole.

The brown anole's tail has a ridge that travels all the way up to behind the head, a feature that the Carolina anole lacks. Female anolis lizards exhibit heritable polymorphism in their dorsal patterning. A study in Gainesville, Florida reported that one-third of A. sagreifemales displayed a male-like chevron dorsal pattern, while other females had a striped dorsal pattern with continuous variation.

Habitat: The brown anole tends to live on the ground, avoiding trees and preferring to live in smaller plants and shrubs and is found in both urban and suburban areas. When the weather is warm, the brown anole can be found basking. When it is cold, they prefer sheltered areas. Brown anoles are less arboreal than the green anoles which are frequently found living in trees, on the ground, or in low vegetation.

Range: This species is highly invasive. In its introduced range, it reaches exceptionally high population densities, is capable of expanding its range very quickly, and both outcompetes and consumes many species of native lizards, like the green anole. The brown anole's introduction into the United States in the early 1970s has altered the behavior and negatively affected populations of the native Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis, also known as the green anole), which have since generally been relegated to the treetops.

Found in these States: AL | AR | CA | FL | GA | IL | LA | MD | MO | MS | NC | NM | NY | OH | SC | TN | TX

Diet: Brown anoles feed on small arthropods such as crickets, moths, ants, grasshoppers, cockroaches, mealworms, beetles, flies, butterflies, spiders, waxworms, amphipods, and isopods. Brown anoles also feed on other types of invertebrates such as earthworms and snails. They may also eat other lizards, such as skinks and the Carolina anole, lizard eggs, and their own molted skin and detached tails. If near water, they eat aquatic arthropods or small fish – nearly any prey that will fit in their mouths.

Reproduction: In a given habitat, female brown anoles reproduce in the warmer parts of the year. The brood size of a single female brown anole is one egg, which it lays in damp environments. The female lays its eggs roughly 2 weeks apart from each other, resulting in a total of 15 to 18 eggs in a single breeding season. The breeding season of a female extends slightly longer than that of a male, as the female is capable of storing sperm for a short time. When a juvenile anole is born, usually in June, it is completely independent from its parents. Sexual maturation of both males and females occurs within a year of hatching, so an individual can participate in the mating season following its birth.

When a female anole is prepared for mating, it begins by making itself visible to the male whose territory it is in. When mating occurs, the male grabs on to the back on the females neck with its mouth, so prior to mating, a female will bend it's neck such that it is more visible and accessible by the male, indicating that it is ready for procreation. If the male decides to reproduce, it will begin mating with the female, which usually last from 30 to 60 minutes. Males indicate that they are available for mating by extending their dewlap and bobbing their head.

Male anoles have a flap that extends below their neck called a "dewlap". Dewlap extension occurs alongside a number of behaviors exhibited by the brown anole, namely during courtship. In an experiment by Richard Tokarz, an experimental group of male brown anoles underwent a surgery that rendered them unable to extend their dewlaps; a control group of male anoles were subject to the same surgery, but without the final step, so they retained the ability to extend their dewlap. Males and females were then put together in an enclosure; the experimental males took more time to begin mating when in the presence of females and mating took longer. Control males were more quick to mate and mated more quickly.

A separate study suggests that the dominant male in a territory is more influential over the mating partners of a female than female mate choice.[33] During observation, females that mated with multiple males did so because dominance over a territory transferred between males, while the female remained in the same territory. There were no observations of female brown anoles seeking out different males or entering a new territory.

Additionally, female brown anoles are more likely to participate in mating behaviors in the presence of precipitation.

Status: The species is assessed as Least Concern because it is very widespread, common and adaptable, and its range and populations are expanding.

Subspecies: One found in our region: Cuban Brown Anole - Anolis sagrei sagrei

Taxonomy: