Anolis eugenegrahami explained

Anolis eugenegrahami, the Eugene's anole or the black stream anole, is a critically endangered species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. This semi-aquatic species is endemic to northern Haiti.[1]

Etymology

The specific name, eugenegrahami, is in honor of herpetologist Eugene D. Graham Jr., who was one of the collectors of the holotype.[2]

Distribution and habitat

A. eugenegrahami is endemic to the Département du Nord in northern Haiti where it is only found 9km (06miles) northeast of Plaisance.[1] It strictly inhabits stream margins in areas with forest.

Description and behavior

This species, A. eugenegrahami, is of moderate size, with extremely long limbs. Males can reach up to 72mm in snout–vent length and females up to 61mm. Males and females are both very dark. The dewlap (male only) ranges from very dark gray to black, with the edge being lighter.[1]

It is one of two semi-aquatic anoles from the Caribbean, the other being A. vermiculatus of Cuba, and there are a few additional semi-aquatic anoles in Central and South America.[3] [4] The semi-aquatic anoles are morphologically diverse and do not form a monophyletic group,[3] but there is convergence in certain microstructures of their skin, making it highly hydrophobic.[4] This results in a thin layer of air on the skin surface when submerged underwater, which they use as an extra air supply for breathing, and it also prevents water from staying on when exiting the water.[4] [5]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Powell . Robert . Robert Powell (herpetologist) . Neland . Jason A. . species:Jason A. Neland . Anolis eugenegrahami Schwartz . Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles . Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles . 5 July 2018 . 30 November 1998.
  2. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
  3. Leal . Manuel . species:Manuel Leal . Knox . Alison K. . species:Alison K. Knox . Losos . Jonathan B. . species:Jonathan B. Losos . 2002 . Lack of convergence in aquatic Anolis lizards . Evolution . 56 . 4 . 785–791 . 10.1554/0014-3820(2002)056[0785:lociaa]2.0.co;2 . 12038536.
  4. Baeckens . S. . Temmerman . M. . Gorb . S.N. . Neto . C. . Whiting . M.J. . Van Damme . R. . amp . 2021 . Convergent evolution of skin surface microarchitecture and increased skin hydrophobicity in semi-aquatic anole lizards . J Exp Biol . 224 . 19 . jeb242939 . 10.1242/jeb.242939 . 34642763 . free . 8541734 . 10067/1820980151162165141 . free .
  5. Boccia, C.K. . et al . 2021 . Repeated evolution of underwater rebreathing in diving Anolis lizards . Current Biology . 31 . 12 . 2947–2954.e4 . 10.1016/j.cub.2021.04.040 . free . 33984265 . 2021CBio...31E2947B .