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Pearl Anole (Anolis peraccae)
Reptiles of Ecuador | Sauria | Anolidae | Anolis peraccae
English common names: Pearl Anole, Chimbo Anole, Peracca’s Anole.
Spanish common names: Anolis perla, anolis de Peracca.
Recognition: ♂♂ 17.5 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=5.2 cm. ♀♀ 18.3 cmMaximum distance from the snout to the tip of the tail. Snout–vent length=4.8 cm..1–3 Anoles are easily distinguishable from other lizards by their diurnal habits, extensible dewlap in males, expanded digital pads, and granular scales on the dorsum and belly.4,5 The Pearl Anole (Anolis peraccae) can be identified other similar slender and blue-eyed Chocoan anoles (particularly A. anchicayae, A. fasciatus, and A. festae) based on dorsal coloration, dewlap pattern, and presence of a dark postocular band.6 The dorsum in males is greenish brown with oblique black streaks; in females, there is a light vertebral stripe with a dark border.3,6 Anolis fasciatus differs from A. peraccae by having dorsal bands that enclose a reticulation of light spots and by lacking a distinct postocular dark band.6 The dewlap in adult males of A. peraccae is uniformly grayish-white whereas in males of A. anchicayae is saffron yellow; in males of A. festae is white with a distinct black blotch at the base.5,7
Figure 1: Individuals of Anolis peraccae from Hacienda Cerro Chico, Los Ríos province, Ecuador.
Natural history: Locally frequentRecorded weekly in densities below five individuals per locality..5,8 Anolis peraccae is a diurnal and arboreal lizard that inhabits evergreen lowland and foothill forests, pastures with scattered trees, plantations (palm, banana, and naranjilla), rural gardens, and forest borders along rivers and roads.1–9 Pearl Anoles are active between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm during sunny and cloudy days when the ambient temperature is 19.8–25.1 °C.1,8 They are usually seen active on leaves, twigs, stems, and palm fronds 0.5–2.5 cm in diameter, but they also use broad branches and and trees in semi-open areas at heights up to 15 m above the ground.2,5–8 Pearl Anoles are included in the “grass-bush” anole ecomorph because they primarily use the undergrowth and herbaceous forest strata at 38.1–104 cm above the ground1 and because they have a small body (~5 cm snout-vent-length), long-tail (>1.5–2 SVL), and long legs (>0.75 SVL).10 Though primarily arboreal, these lizards descend to the ground when chased by a predator or when chasing prey. They also use man-made structures such as wood poles and thatched roofs.2 At night, they sleep on flimsy perches within 1 m from the ground level.2 This strategy allows the lizards to detect potential predators by sensing the vibration on the perch, to which they respond by jumping and disappearing into the dark. Anolis peraccae is a primarily insectivorous predator. Individuals feed mainly on insects of the order Hemiptera, Hymenoptera, and Orthoptera, but also include flies, ants, butterflies, insect larvae, mollusks, spiders, pseudoscorpions, plant matter, and seeds in their diet.8 Anolis peraccae is an oviparous species. In Ecuador, gravid females containing two immature eggs have been reported in January,6 but the real clutch size is not known.
Conservation: Least Concern Believed to be safe from extinction given current circumstances..9–13 Anolis peraccae is listed in this category because it is a common species that survives in human-modified environments and is widely distributed over areas that have not been heavily affected by deforestation, like the Colombian Pacific coast.9,14 The species appears to have stable populations and is also present in several protected areas, including Awá Ethnic and Forest Reserve, Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve, and Cayapas Mataje Ecological Reserve.
Distribution: Anolis peraccae is native to an estimated 55,616 km2 area in the Chocoan lowlands and adjacent Andean foothills of Colombia and Ecuador. The species occurs from Cauca department in Colombia to Chimborazo province in Ecuador. Anolis peraccae has been recorded at elevations between 4 and 1362 m (Fig. 2).
Figure 2: Distribution of Anolis peraccae in Ecuador. The star corresponds to the type locality: Chimbo, Chimborazo province. See Appendix 1 for a complete list of the presence localities included in the map.
Etymology: The generic name Anolis is thought to have originated from Cariban languages, specifically from the word anoli, which is the name Arawak peoples may have used to refer to this group of lizards.15 The specific epithet peraccae honors Mario Giacinto Peracca (1861–1923), an Italian herpetologist who described new genera and species of reptiles from Ecuador.3
See it in the wild: Pearl Anoles can be located with almost complete certainty in semi-open forested areas throughout the species’ area of distribution in Ecuador. These lizards are easy to spot during daylight hours given their preference for large tree-trunks and broad branches. At night, they can be spotted roosting on low vegetation. In Ecuador, the localities having the greatest number of recent observations of Anolis peraccae are Centro Científico Río Palenque, Rancho Suamox, and Hacienda Tinalandia.
Authors: Fernanda GordonaAffiliation: Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador. and Alejandro ArteagabAffiliation: Khamai Foundation, Quito, Ecuador.
Photographer: Jose VieiracAffiliation: Tropical Herping (TH), Quito, Ecuador.,dAffiliation: ExSitu, Quito, Ecuador.
How to cite? Gordon F, Arteaga A (2022) Pearl Anole (Anolis peraccae). In: Arteaga A, Bustamante L, Vieira J, Guayasamin JM (Eds) Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Available from: www.reptilesofecuador.com. DOI: 10.47051/JJDV5258
Literature cited:
- Miyata KI (2013) Studies on the ecology and population biology of little known Ecuadorian anoles. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 161: 45–78.
- Field notes, Reptiles of Ecuador book project.
- Boulenger GA (1898) An account of the reptiles and batrachians collected by Mr. Rosenberg in western Ecuador. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 9: 107–126.
- Peters JA, Donoso-Barros R (1970) Catalogue of the Neotropical Squamata: part II, lizards and amphisbaenians. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, Washington, D.C., 293 pp.
- Castro Herrera F, Ayala SC (1988) Saurios de Colombia. Unpublished, Bogotá, 692 pp.
- MECN (2010) Serie herpetofauna del Ecuador: El Chocó esmeraldeño. Museo Ecuatoriano de Ciencias Naturales, Quito, 232 pp.
- Poe S, Velasco J, Miyata K, Williams EE (2009) Descriptions of two nomen nudum species of Anolis lizard from Northwestern South America. Breviora 516: 1–16.
- Boada Viteri EA (2015) Ecología de una comunidad de lagartijas del género Anolis (Iguanidae: Dactyloinae) de un bosque pie-montano del Ecuador occidental. BSc thesis, Quito, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 111 pp.
- Castañeda MR, Velasco J (2020) Anolis peraccae. The IUCN red list of threatened species. Available from: www.iucnredlist.org. DOI: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2020-3.RLTS.T44577649A44577654.en
- Moreno-Arias R, Velasco JA, Urbina Cardona J, Cárdenas-Arévalo G, Medina Rangel G, Gutiérrez Cárdenas P, Olaya-Rodriguez M, Noguera-Urbano E (2021) Atlas de la biodiversidad de Colombia. Anolis. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, 72 pp.
- Reyes-Puig C (2015) Un método integrativo para evaluar el estado de conservación de las especies y su aplicación a los reptiles del Ecuador. MSc thesis, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador, 73 pp.
- Carrillo E, Aldás A, Altamirano M, Ayala F, Cisneros-Heredia DF, Endara A, Márquez C, Morales M, Nogales F, Salvador P, Torres ML, Valencia J, Villamarín F, Yánez-Muñoz M, Zárate P (2005) Lista roja de los reptiles del Ecuador. Fundación Novum Millenium, Quito, 46 pp.
- Morales-Betancourt MA, Lasso CA, Páez VP, Bock BC (2005) Libro rojo de reptiles de Colombia. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, 257 pp.
- Hansen MC, Potapov PV, Moore R, Hancher M, Turubanova SA, Tyukavina A, Thau D, Stehman SV, Goetz SJ, Loveland TR, Kommareddy A, Egorov A, Chini L, Justice CO, Townshend JRG (2013) High-resolution global maps of 21st-century forest cover change. Science 342: 850–853. DOI: 10.1126/science.1244693
- Allsopp R (1996) Dictionary of Caribbean English Usage. Oxford University Press, Oxford, 776 pp.
Appendix 1: Locality data used to create the distribution map of Anolis peraccae in Ecuador (Fig. 2). Go to the section on symbols and abbreviations for a list of acronyms used. Asterisk (*) indicates type locality.
| Country | Province | Locality | Source |
| Colombia | Nariño | Tangarial del Mira | MCZ 170490 |
| Colombia | Nariño | Tumaco | MCZ 170467 |
| Ecuador | Bolívar | Balzapamba | Werner 1901 |
| Ecuador | Carchi | Ojalá (El Ojal) | CM 94557 |
| Ecuador | Carchi | San Juan river | This work |
| Ecuador | Chimborazo | Chimbo* | Boulenger 1898 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Bosque Privado El Jardín de los Sueños | Pellet 2017 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Hacienda La Mariela | DHMECN 1625 |
| Ecuador | Cotopaxi | Yakusinchi | Photo by Jane Sloan |
| Ecuador | El Oro | Playas del Daucay | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Bilsa Biological Reserve | Ortega-Andrade et al. 2010 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Caimito | This work |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Canandé Reserve | This work |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Carretera Lita–San Lorenzo | DHMECN 5406 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Charco Vicente | Morales 2004 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | El Aguacate | Vázquez et al. 2005 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Estero Chipa | Vázquez et al. 2005 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Estero Inés | Vázquez et al. 2005 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Estero María | Photo by Néstor Acosta |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Finca de Carlos Vásquez | Photo by Carlos Vásquez |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Hacienda Cucaracha | This work |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Hacienda de Germán Cortez | This work |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Hacienda Equinox | USNM 234761 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Itapoa Reserve | Photo by Rául Nieto |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | La Mayronga | Field notes of Giovanni Onore |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Mouth of Río San Miguel, 30 upriver | MCZ 153170 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Partidero-Poza Honda | Vázquez et al. 2005 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Reserva Itapoa | This work |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Río Balsalito | USNM 234759 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Río Cupa | MCZ 124389 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Río San Francisco | DHMECN 2854 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Río Sapayo | MCZ 16785 |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Ruta del Spondylus | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Tundaloma Lodge | This work |
| Ecuador | Esmeraldas | Mompiche, 2 km SE of | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Imbabura | Bosque Protector Los Cedros | Los Cedros Reserve 2022 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Buena Fé | MCZ 147155 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Centro Científico Río Palenque | Miyata 2013 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Hacienda Cerro Chico | This work |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Puerto de Ilá | USNM 234772 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Quevedo | MCZ 38941 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Quevedo, 4 km S and 2 km E of | MCZ 147167 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Río Congo | MCZ 124391 |
| Ecuador | Los Ríos | Santo Domingo, 41 km S of | MCZ 147168 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Ayampe | DHMECN 7631 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Cerro San Sebastián | DHMECN 6060 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Jama Coaque Reserve | Lynch et al. 2016 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | La Crespa | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Parque Nacional Machalilla | Almendariz & Carr 2007 |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Three Forests Trail | Photo by Paul Maier |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Zapotal | Photo by Pablo Loaiza |
| Ecuador | Manabí | Recinto El Mamey | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Alto Río Toachi | USNM 234689 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Cascada Azul | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Hacienda La Hesperia | Brouwer 2018 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Highway 28, 13 km from jct with Highway 30 | MCZ 147170 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Hostería Selva Virgen | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Mashpi Shungo | This work |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Rancho Suamox | Photo by Rafael Ferro |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Recinto Pueblo Arrecho | DHMECN 1518 |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Reserva Un Poco del Chocó | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Mashpi Lodge Reserve | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Pichincha | Río Blanco | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Santa Elena | Cascada Dos Mangas | Salvatierra et al. 2014 |
| Ecuador | Santa Elena | Comuna Dos Mangas | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Santa Elena | Finca La Selva | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Santa Elena | Reserva Ecológica Loma Alta | Online multimedia |
| Ecuador | Santa Elena | La Delicia | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Bosque Protector La Perla | Photo by Plácido Palacios |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | El Centinela | USNM 285674 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | El Esfuerzo, 2 km E of | GBIF |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Hacienda Dyott | USNM 234767 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Hacienda Tinalandia | MCZ 144302 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | La Florida | MCZ 175914 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Otongachi Reserve | Boada Viteri 2015 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Río Baba, 19 km S of Santo Domingo | UIMNH 66137 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Río Baba, 24 km S of Santo Domingo | UIMNH 92104 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Santo Domingo de los Colorados | MCZ 124388 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Santo Domingo, 15 km E of | MCZ 150227 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas | Santo Domingo, 5 W of | USNM 234770 |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchillas | La Libertda del Toachi, 1 km S of | iNaturalist |
| Ecuador | Santo Domingo de los Tsáchillas | San Luis Housing Plan | iNaturalist |