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Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Anolidae  

Green Anole
Anolis carolinensis (Voigt, 1832)

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
In the 8th edition of this list the names of subclades were indicated parenthetically, but Ctenocercus was omitted because it had not yet been proposed by Poe et al. (2017, Systematic Biology 66: 663–697).

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2024.02.03.14.14.09)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.86 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
Green Lizard of Carolina (Lacertus viridis carolinensis: Catesby, Mark. 1754. The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands: Containing the Figures of Birds, Beasts, Fishes, Serpents, Insects, and Plants: Particularly the Forest-trees, Shrubs, and other Plants, not Hitherto Described, or Very Incorrectly Figured by Authors. Together with Their Descriptions in English and French. To which, are Added Observations on the Air, Soil, and Waters: with Remarks upon Agriculture, Grain, Pulse, Roots, &c. To the Whole, is Prefixed a New and Correct Map of the Countries Treated of. , London. pp.); Cameleon (Lacerta cameleon: Freeman, Thomas and Peter Custis. 1807. An Account of the Red River in Louisiana, Drawn Up from the Returns of Messrs. Freeman and Custis, to the War Office of the United States, Who Explored Same in the Year 1806. U.S. Government War Office, Washington, D.C.. pp.); Gouty Anolis (Anolis podargicus: Gray, John E. 1830. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.); Anolis of Carolina (Iguane goitreux: Griffith, Edward and Edward Pidgeon. 1831. The class reptilia arranged by the Baron Cuvier, with specific descriptions. Part 2. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London. 1-481pp.); Green Lizard (Anolis principalis: Coues, Elliott and Henry C. Yarrow. 1878. Notes on the natural history of Fort Macon, N. C. and Vicinity (No. 4). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 30():21-28); Scorpion (Anolis principalis: Coues, Elliott and Henry C. Yarrow. 1878. Notes on the natural history of Fort Macon, N. C. and Vicinity (No. 4). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 30():21-28); Chameleon (Anolis principalis: Coues, Elliott and Henry C. Yarrow. 1878. Notes on the natural history of Fort Macon, N. C. and Vicinity (No. 4). Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 30():21-28); Cooper's Green Lizard (Anolis cooperi: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Green Lizard (Anolis principalis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Scorpion (Anolis principalis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Chameleon (Anolis principalis: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Floridan Chameleon (Anolis principalis: Davis, N. S. Jr. and Frank L. Rice. 1883. Descriptive catalogue of North American batrachia and reptilia, found east of Mississippi River. Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin 1(5):71); Carolina Chameleon (Anolis carolinensis: Rhoads, Samuel N. 1895. Contributions to the zoology of Tennessee. No. 1, Reptiles and amphibians. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia 47():376-407); Green Lizard (Anolis carolinensis: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Chameleon (Anolis carolinensis: Beyer, George. 1900. Louisana herpetology. Proceedings of the Louisiana Society of Naturalists 1897-1899():24-46); Chameleon (Anolis carolinensis: Brimley, Clement S. 1915. List of reptiles and amphibians of North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 30(4):195-206); Green Lizard (Anolis carolinensis: Brimley, Clement S. 1915. List of reptiles and amphibians of North Carolina. Journal of the Elisha Mitchell Scientific Society 30(4):195-206); Chameleon (Anolis carolinensis: Stejneger, Leonhard H. and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); Anolis (Anolis carolinensis: Stejneger, Leonhard H. and Thomas Barbour. 1917. A Checklist of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. pp.); Chameleon (Anolis carolinensis: Strecker, John K., Jr. 1922. An annotated catalogue of the amphibians and reptiles of Bexar County, Texas. Bulletin Scientific Society of San Antonio (4):1-31); Green Lizard (Anolis carolinensis: Strecker, John K., Jr. 1922. An annotated catalogue of the amphibians and reptiles of Bexar County, Texas. Bulletin Scientific Society of San Antonio (4):1-31); Green Anolis (Anolis carolinensis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Chameleon (Anolis carolinensis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Anolis (Anolis carolinensis carolinensis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Anole (Anolis carolinensis carolinensis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Chameleon (Anolis carolinensis carolinensis: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); North American Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis: Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. 2019. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53); North American Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis: Meshaka, Walter E. Jr., R. Bruce Bury, Suzanne L. Collins, and Malcolm L. McCallum. 2022. Exotic Amphibians and Reptiles of the United States. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 245pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1942 Brumwell, Malcolm J. Establishment of Anolis carolinensis in Kansas Copeia 1942(1):54
1980 Buth, Donald G., George C. Gorman, and Carl S. Lieb. Genetic divergence between Anolis carolinensis and its Cuban progenitor, Anolis porcatus. Journal of Herpetology 14(3):279-284
1983 Wade, J. K., A. C. Echternacht, and G. F. McCracken. Genetic variation and similarity in Anolis carolinensis (Sauria: Iguanidae). Copeia 1983(2):523-529
1991 Vance, Thomas. Morphological variation and systematics of the Green Anole, Anolis carolinensis (Reptilia: Iguanidae). Bulletin of the Maryland Herpetological Society 27(2):43-89
2012 Tollis, Marc, Gavriel Ausubel, Dhruba Ghimire, and Stéphane Boissinot. Multi-Locus phylogeographic and population genetic analysis of Anolis carolinensis: Historical demography of a genomic model species. PLoSONE 7(6):e38474
2017 Poe, Steven, A., Adrián Nieto-montes de Oca, Omar Torres-carvajal, Kevin De Queiroz, Julián A. Velasco, Brad Truett, Levi N. Gray, Mason J. Ryan, Gunther Köhler, Fernando Ayala-varela, and Ian Latella A phylogenetic, biogeographic, and taxonomic study of all extant species of Anolis (Squamata; Iguanidae). Systematic Biology 66(5):663–697
2019 Hedges, S. Blair, Robert Powell, Robert W. Henderson, Sarah Hanson, and John C. Murphy. Definition of the Caribbean Islands biogeographic region, with checklist and recommendations for standardized common names of amphibians and reptiles. Caribbean Herpetology (67):1–53
2019 Wegener, Johanna E., Jessica N. Pita‐Aquino, Jessica Atutubo, Adam Moreno and Jason J. Kolbe. Hybridization and rapid differentiation after secondary contact between the native green anole (Anolis carolinensis) and the introduced green anole (Anolis porcatus). Ecology and Evolution 9::4138–4148

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Sunday 27 April 2025 12:30 CT