Green Anole

The green anole, Anolis carolinensis, formally named in 1832, is a tree-dwelling lizard of the family Dactyloidae native to the southeastern United States, from the Atlantic Coastal Plains and Gulf Coast through North Carolina to Florida and west into Texas, and introduced to Pacific and Caribbean islands. Adult males measure 12.5 to 20.3 centimeters in total length, most of it tail, weigh 3 to 7 grams, and are roughly 15 percent larger than females, with a dewlap, or throat fan, about three times the size of the female's and colored bright orange to red. Nicknamed the American chameleon for its ability to shift color between brown and green in response to mood, stress and social signaling rather than background matching, it is arboreal and increasingly faces competition from the introduced brown anole.