Leach's anole

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Anolis leachii
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Anolidae
Genus: Anolis
Species:
A. leachii
Binomial name
Anolis leachii
Synonyms[2]
  • Anolis leachii
    A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1837
  • Anolis bimaculatus leachii
    — Underwood in E. Williams et al., 1959
  • Anolis bimaculatus leachi
    — Lazell, 1972
  • Anolis leachi
    — Burnell & Hedges, 1990

Anolis leachii, known commonly as the Antigua Bank tree anole, Barbuda Bank tree anole, panther anole[2] or Leach's anole,[3] is a species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. The species is endemic to the Caribbean, and native to Antigua and Barbuda.

Taxonomy

The first description of Anolis leachii was published in 1837 by André Marie Constant Duméril and Gabriel Bibron, in the 4th edition of Érpetologie générale.The specific name, leachii, is in honor of English zoologist William Elford Leach.[4]

Description and behaviour

A. leachii is light bright green, with the colour fading into a greyish brown down the length of the tail. The head is grey to brown, with a yellowish orange dewlap and dark brown to black speckling or mottling; in some individuals this speckling or mottling extends down the shoulders and across their whole backs.[5]

A. leachii is diurnal oviparous.[1][3]

Distribution

A. leachii is native to Antigua and Barbuda, but has been introduced to and is widespread in Bermuda, and has also been introduced to Saint Thomas, US Virgin Islands and Montserrat.[6][1] An effort to eradicate the species from Saint Thomas was undertaken in 2015, but photographic evidence indicates it may have been unsuccessful. The fate of the Montserrat population after the 1995 Soufrière Hills eruption that destroyed much of the island is unknown. In its 2015 assessment of the species the IUCN listed it as being of least concern.[1]

Habitat

A.leachii is an arboreal species that can live in both xeric and mesic habitats. Its natural habitats are forest and shrubland, but its also known to inhabit habitats that have been disturbed by human activity, such as pastures and sugarcane farms; one requirement for the anole to inhabit a place is that there exists vertical surfaces for it to perch on.[1]

Sympatry

A. leachii coexists with the smaller anoles A. wattsi on Antigua, and A. forresti on Barbuda.[6]

A.leachii on tree.

References

  1. Daltry JC; Powell R; Dewynter M; Mahler DL (2020). "Anolis leachii". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2020 e.T203885A2772011. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T203885A2772011.en. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
  2. Species Anolis leachii at The Reptile Database
  3. Maurer, Andrew S.; Thawley, Christopher J.; Fireman, Alexandra L.; Giery, Sean T.; Stroud, James T. (30 April 2019). "Nocturnal activity of Antiguan lizards under artificial light". Herpetological Conservation and Biology. 14 (1): 105–110. ISSN 1931-7603. Retrieved 23 May 2026 – via National Science Foundation.
  4. Beolens, B.; Watkins, M.; Grayson, M. (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. xiii + 296. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Anolis leachii, p. 153)
  5. Lazell, James D.; Williams, Ernest E. (October 1962). "The Anoles of the Eastern Caribbean (Sauria, Iguanidae) Parts IV–VI". Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College. 127 (9). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University: 458. Retrieved 23 May 2026 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  6. Malhotra, Anita; Thorpe, Roger S. (1999). Reptiles & Amphibians of the Eastern Caribbean. London: Macmillan Education Ltd. ISBN 978-0-333-69141-0. (Anolis leachii, pp. 68, 71)

Further reading

  • Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. Iguanidæ .... London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I–XXIV. (Anolis leachii, pp. 29–30).
  • Duméril AMC, Bibron G (1837). Erpétologie générale ou Histoire naturelle complète des Reptiles. Tome quatrième [Volume 4]. Paris: Roret. ii + 571 pp. (Anolis leachii, new species, pp. 152–156).
  • Platenberg R (2019). "Barbuda Bank Tree Anole (Anolis leachii) on St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands". IRCF Reptiles & Amphibians 26 (1): 79.
  • Schwartz A, Thomas R (1975). A Check-list of West Indian Amphibians and Reptiles. Carnegie Museum of Natural History Special Publication No. 1. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Carnegie Museum of Natural History. 216 pp. (Anolis bimaculatus leachi, pp. 70–71).