Brown anoles (mating)

Description:

The Brown Anole (Anolis sagrei) is a lizard native to Cuba and the Bahamas. It has been widely introduced elsewhere, and is now found in Florida and as far north as southern Georgia, Texas, Taiwan, Hawaii, Southern California, and other Caribbean islands. This species is highly invasive. In its introduced range it reaches exceptionally high population densities, is capable of expanding its range at an exponential rate, and both out competes and consumes many species of native lizards. Its introduction in the United States has altered the behavior and triggered a negative effect on populations of the native Carolina Anole (Anolis carolinensis).

Habitat:

Deerfield Beach, FL

Notes:

The male here is showing signs of a prolapse which is an eversion of tissue into an area where it should not be. Reptiles are like birds in that they have a single chamber into which feces and urates are deposited before being voided. Through this same chamber passes sperm. This chamber, the cloaca, is found just inside the vent . The paired male iguana reproductive organ, called the hemipenes, is kept tucked into the tail, pointed towards the tip of the tail. When the hemipene is everted, it, too, passes through the cloaca to the vent. In the normal course of defecation, the male hemipenes may be everted, that is, will be forced out of the vent. They will revert back (be pulled back in by the muscles) into their normal position within a few moments. During breeding season, males will frequently evert their hemipenes in conjunction with depositing some seminal material.