04/07/2023
The green anole (Anolis carolinensis) is native to the southern United States, including North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. Sometimes called an "American chameleon," or "false chameleon" due to their ability to change colors between brown and green, however the green anole is not related to chameleons. The genus of anoles is native to the Americas, and has more than 425 recognized species. Overall, they are a very hot topic for evolutionary and taxonomic research. There is also a sometimes-intense debate among English speakers about how "anole" should be pronounced.
The green anole can be a popular pet, and can live for ten years or more when well provided for. While too delicate for handling, these small lizards can thrive in a spacious enclosure with appropriate enrichment opportunities. Males are known to be extremely territorial.
__________
The photograph used with this post is a high quality portrait of a male Carolina anole (Anolis carolinensis) with its dewlap partially expanded. This photo is attributed to PiccoloNamek (Blaise Frazier), and was shared under both a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) license. The image was not altered for use in this post.
View license information here: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en