Anolis poncensis

Ponce anole
	In Ponce, Puerto Rico
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Dactyloidae
Genus:	Anolis
Species:	A. poncensis
Binomial name
	Anolis poncensis; Stejneger, 1904
Synonyms
	Ctenonotus poncensis Nicholson, et al., 2012;

Anolis poncensis (commonly known as Ponce small-fanned anole, Ponce anole and dryland grass anole;^[4]) is a species of lizard of the family of Dactyloidae.^[5] The species is endemic to Puerto Rico.^[6] It was first identified in Ponce, in the hills three miles east^[a] of the city.^[7] The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources considers it a "vulnerable species".^[8]

Description

The body of this anole is longer and more slender than other grass Anoles. It has distinguishing brownish dorsum, greenish sides, blue eyes, a small white dewlap, a short pale lateral line, and a number of black spots behind the eyes.^[9] Males grow up to 44 mm and females up to 40 mm.^[10]

Distribution

This species is endemic to Puerto Rico.^[11] Its distribution is rather small, being limited to the arid and semi-arid western half of the southern coast of the island.^[12] It was identified and catalogued in 1902 by Leonhard Stejneger, a curator with the Division of Reptiles and Batrachians of the United States National Museum.^[13]

Etymology

Its species name, consisting of "ponce" plus the Latin suffix -nsis, was given in reference to the place of its discovery, the city of Ponce.^[14] Its discovery and documentation were originally published in Stejneger, 1904: "The herpetology of Porto Rico".^[15]

Notes

^ There are no hills east of Ponce; all hills near Ponce are either north or west of Ponce. As the map on page 619 of this following source (https://faculty.unlv.edu/jrodriguez/39.pdf [Living together but remaining apart: comparative phylogeography of Anolis poncensis and A. cooki, two lizards endemic to the aridlands of Puerto Rico]) shows, as well as the location descriptions ("El Tuque", etc.,) given there (example: p. 621), the habitat for this species is clearly in the hills --and drylands-- west (not east) of Ponce, and, as such, Stejneger 1904's documentation appears to be a typo, most likely due to human directional interpretation error.

References

^ Mahler, D.L. & Rodriguez, C. (2020). "Anolis poncensis ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T75084791A75171781. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/75084791/75171781. Downloaded on 29 March 2021.
^ Stejneger, Leonhard (1904). "The herpetology of Porto Rico". Rept. United States Natl. Mus. 1902. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.11835.
^ Anolis poncensis (Stejneger, 1904). Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2016. Accessed 14 June 2016.
^ Anolis poncensis. Encyclopedia of Life. 2016. Accessed 14 June 2016.
^ Anolis poncensis STEJNEGER, 1904. The Reptile Database. Accessed 13 June 2016.
^ PUERTO RICO: Checklist of Endemic Reptile Species. Living National Treasures. 2016. Accessed 9 June 2016.
^ Anolis poncensis STEJNEGER, 1904. The Reptile Database. Accessed 14 June 2016.
^ Construccion de Infraestructuras Minimas Recreativas y Educativas en la Reserva Natural Punta Cucharas: Evaluacion Ambiental: Punta Cucharas. Archived 21 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales de Puerto Rico. Pages 24. October 2012. Accessed 9 June 2016.
^ Vulnerability of Tropical Ectotherms to Climate Warming. Raymond Huey. 2016. Accessed 14 June 2016.
^ Schwartz & Henderson, 1991 : Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Florida University Press. pp. 1-736.
^ Construccion de Infraestructuras Minimas Recreativas y Educativas en la Reserva Natural Punta Cucharas: Evaluacion Ambiental: Punta Cucharas. Archived 21 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales de Puerto Rico. Pages 24. October 2012. Accessed 9 June 2016.
^ Vulnerability of Tropical Ectotherms to Climate Warming. Raymond Huey. 2016. Accessed 14 June 2016.
^ The Herpetology of Porto Rico. Congressional Series of United States Public Documents. Volume 4549. p.554. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsoniam Institution, showing the Operations, Expenditures, and Condition of the Institution for the Year ending June 30, 1902: Report of the U.S. National Museum. 1904. Accessed 14 June 2016.
^ Lizards may be smarter than you think. Michael Johnson. Trinity University. 2013. Accessed 14 June 2016.
^ Full Text of Stejneger's Herpetology of Porto Rico. Stejneger, 1904. The herpetology of Porto Rico. Annual Report of the United States National Museum for 1902. pp. 553-724. 1904. Accessed 14 June 2016.

External links

Anolis poncensis. Distribution of Anolis poncensis within Puerto Rico.
CaribHerp: Amphibians and reptiles of Caribbean Islands. Caribbean Herpetology. 2016. Accessed 14 June 2016. Map illustrating the distribution of Anolis poncensis within Puerto Rico.
Anolis poncensis STEJNEGER 1904 (accepted name). Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist, describing A. poncensis as belonging to the "Family Polychrotidae".

Brandley, M.C. & De Queiroz, K. 2004. Phylogeny, ecomorphological evolution, and historical biogeography of the Anolis cristatellus series. Herpetological Monographs 18: 90-126.
Grant, C. 1932. Herpetological notes from the Puerto Rico area. Jour. Dept. Agric. Puerto Rico 16(1): 161-165
Nicholson, Kirten E.; Brian I. Crother, Craig Guyer & Jay M. Savage 2012. It is time for a new classification of anoles (Squamata: Dactyloidae). Zootaxa 3477: 1–108
Poe, S. 2004. Phylogeny of anoles. Herpetological Monographs 18: 37-89.
Poe, S. 2013. 1986 Redux: New genera of anoles (Squamata: Dactyloidae) are unwarranted. Zootaxa 3626 (2): 295–299.
Rivero, J.A. 1978. Los anfibios y reptiles de Puerto Rico. M. Pareja Montana, 16, Barcelona, España: x + 152 + 148pp.
Schmidt, K.P. 1928. Scientific Survey of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands: Amphibians and land reptiles of Porto Rico, with a list of those reported from the Virgin Islands. New York Academy of Sciences 10 (1):160 pp.
Schwartz, A. and Henderson, R.W. 1985. A guide to the identification of the amphibians and reptiles of the West Indies exclusive of Hispaniola. Milwaukee Public Museum, 165 pp.
Schwartz,A. & Henderson,R.W. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, 720 pp.
Stejneger, L. 1904. The herpetology of Porto Rico. Rept. United States National Museum. 1902: 549-724.
Werning, H. 2012. Zwischen Anolis und Cycluren: Unterwegs auf Puerto Rico. Reptilia (Münster) 17 (95): 100-109.

[7] There are no hills east of Ponce; all hills near Ponce are either north or west of Ponce. As the map on page 619 of this following source (https://faculty.unlv.edu/jrodriguez/39.pdf [Living together but remaining apart: comparative phylogeography of Anolis poncensis and A. cooki, two lizards endemic to the aridlands of Puerto Rico]) shows, as well as the location descriptions ("El Tuque", etc.,) given there (example: p. 621), the habitat for this species is clearly in the hills --and drylands-- west (not east) of Ponce, and, as such, Stejneger 1904's documentation appears to be a typo, most likely due to human directional interpretation error.

[1] Mahler, D.L. & Rodriguez, C. (2020). "Anolis poncensis ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2020: e.T75084791A75171781. https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/75084791/75171781. Downloaded on 29 March 2021.

[Stejneger1904Aponcensis-2] Stejneger, Leonhard (1904). "The herpetology of Porto Rico". Rept. United States Natl. Mus. 1902. doi:10.5962/bhl.title.11835.

[3] Anolis poncensis (Stejneger, 1904). Global Biodiversity Information Facility. 2016. Accessed 14 June 2016.

[4] Anolis poncensis. Encyclopedia of Life. 2016. Accessed 14 June 2016.

[5] Anolis poncensis STEJNEGER, 1904. The Reptile Database. Accessed 13 June 2016.

[6] PUERTO RICO: Checklist of Endemic Reptile Species. Living National Treasures. 2016. Accessed 9 June 2016.

[8] Anolis poncensis STEJNEGER, 1904. The Reptile Database. Accessed 14 June 2016.

[9] Construccion de Infraestructuras Minimas Recreativas y Educativas en la Reserva Natural Punta Cucharas: Evaluacion Ambiental: Punta Cucharas. Archived 21 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales de Puerto Rico. Pages 24. October 2012. Accessed 9 June 2016.

[10] Vulnerability of Tropical Ectotherms to Climate Warming. Raymond Huey. 2016. Accessed 14 June 2016.

[11] Schwartz & Henderson, 1991 : Amphibians and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Florida University Press. pp. 1-736.

[12] Construccion de Infraestructuras Minimas Recreativas y Educativas en la Reserva Natural Punta Cucharas: Evaluacion Ambiental: Punta Cucharas. Archived 21 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales de Puerto Rico. Pages 24. October 2012. Accessed 9 June 2016.

[13] Vulnerability of Tropical Ectotherms to Climate Warming. Raymond Huey. 2016. Accessed 14 June 2016.

[14] The Herpetology of Porto Rico. Congressional Series of United States Public Documents. Volume 4549. p.554. Annual Report of the Board of Regents of the Smithsoniam Institution, showing the Operations, Expenditures, and Condition of the Institution for the Year ending June 30, 1902: Report of the U.S. National Museum. 1904. Accessed 14 June 2016.

[15] Lizards may be smarter than you think. Michael Johnson. Trinity University. 2013. Accessed 14 June 2016.

[16] Full Text of Stejneger's Herpetology of Porto Rico. Stejneger, 1904. The herpetology of Porto Rico. Annual Report of the United States National Museum for 1902. pp. 553-724. 1904. Accessed 14 June 2016.

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