THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Anolidae  

Knight Anole
Anolis equestris Merrem, 1820

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Native to Cuba. It was introduced to Oah'u, Hawai'i (McKeown, 1996, A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians in the Hawaiian Islands. Diamond Head Publishing, Incorporated, Los Osos, California; Lazell and McKeown, 1998, Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 33: 181) and is established in Florida (Camposano and Krysko, 2019, Anolis equestris equestris. Pages 375–377 in Krysko et al. (Editors) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida). It was first introduced in Florida at the University of Miami's old North Campus in Coral Gables, Miami-Dade County, Florida in 1952 (Neill, 1957, Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Series 2: 175–220; King and Krakauer, 1966, Quarterly Journal of the Florida Academy of Sciences 29: 144–154; Camposano and Krysko, 2019, op. cit.). It was subsequently introduced to many other areas from Key West, Monroe County north to St. Augustine, St. Johns County, Florida (Brown, 1972, Florida Naturalist 45: 130; Brach, 1976, Copeia 1976: 187–189; Dalrymple, 1980, Journal of Herpetology 14: 412–415; Wilson and Porras, 1983, University of Kansas Museum of Natural History, Special Publication No. 9, Lawrence; Camposano and Krysko, 2019, op. cit.). Genetic data from Florida specimens suggest two different native range origins in Cuba (Kolbe et al., 2007, Conservation Biology 21: 1612–1625). Use of the subgeneric name follows Poe et al. (2017, Systematic Biology 66: 663–697). The English name Cuban Giant Anole is used by Hedges et al. (2019, Caribbean Herpetology (67): 1–53).

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2025.03.24.09.51.27)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.23 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: Florida

First instance(s) of published English names:
Equestrian Anolis (Anolis equestris: 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.); Cuban Giant Anole (Anolis equestris: 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);

Taxon Links:

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

Selected References:
1820 Merrem, Blasius. Versuch eines Systems der Amphibien I (Tentamen Systematis Amphibiorum). [Attempt at a system of amphibians | (Test of the Amphibious System)] Johann Christian Krieger, Marburg, Germany. 191pp.
1957 Neill, Wilfred T. Historical biogeography of present-day Florida. Bulletin of the Florida State Museum, Biological Series 2(7):175-220
1996 McKeown, Sean. A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians in the Hawaiian Islands. Diamond Head Publishing, Inc., Los Osos, California. pp.
1998 Lazell, James and Sean McKeown. Identity of the Knight Anole introduced to Oahu, Hawaiian Islands. Bulletin of the Chicago Herpetological Society 33(9):181
2007 Kolbe, Jason L., Richard E. Glor, Lourdes Rodríguez Schettino, Ada ChamizoLara, Allan Larson and Jonathan B. Losos. Multiple sources, admixture, and genetic variation in introduced Anolis lizard populations. Conservation Biology 21(6):1612-1625
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 Krysko, Kenneth L., Kevin M. Enge, and Paul E. Moler (Editor) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 728pp.
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

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Sunday 27 April 2025 12:24 CT