King of the Branch
This brown anole displays his dewlap to let me know who is in charge. He can have it all as I was just visiting the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens in Florida. I saw several types and sizes of lizards at the gardens, but this little guy was the most precious with his dewlap.
The dewlap is an interesting section of skin that the lizard can extend to signal others from a distance as the pigments in the skin are specifically captured by eyes of an anole. By displaying its dewlap the lizard may appear larger than it is to help warn off predators.
The brown anole is an invasive species in Florida that both out-competes and consumes its competition.
Taken 11 April at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens, Florida.
King of the Branch
This brown anole displays his dewlap to let me know who is in charge. He can have it all as I was just visiting the Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens in Florida. I saw several types and sizes of lizards at the gardens, but this little guy was the most precious with his dewlap.
The dewlap is an interesting section of skin that the lizard can extend to signal others from a distance as the pigments in the skin are specifically captured by eyes of an anole. By displaying its dewlap the lizard may appear larger than it is to help warn off predators.
The brown anole is an invasive species in Florida that both out-competes and consumes its competition.
Taken 11 April at Fairchild Tropical Botanical Gardens, Florida.