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Reptilia    Squamata (part-other lizards)    Anolidae  

Cuban Green Anole
Anolis porcatus Gray, 1840
AH-NOH-lis — por-KAY-tus

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 Native to Cuba. It was first reported in the Florida Keys (Barbour, 1904, Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 46: 55—61) where it was likely introduced as a stowaway in cargo (Krysko et al., 2011, Zootaxa 3028: 1–64). It was subsequently found on the southern Florida mainland (see Meshaka et al. 1997, Herpetological Review 28: 101–102; Wegener et al., 2019, Ecology and Evolution 9: 4138–4148). Despite its genetic material being confirmed in Miami, Miami-Dade County (Kolbe et al., 2007, Conservation Biology 21: 1612–1625), its genome in Florida is likely at very low abundance (Krysko et al., 2011, op. cit.). Because there is no current evidence that the species is established (Kolbe et al., 2007, Conservation Biology 21: 1612–1625) and it cannot be distinguished morphologically from the native A. carolinensis that it readily hybridizes with (Camposano, 2011, M.S. thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville), A. porcatus is not treated as an established nonnative species in Florida (Krysko and Alfonso, 2019, Anolis carolinensis and Anolis porcatus. Pages 367–368 in Krysko et al. (Editors). Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida). Use of the subgeneric name follows Poe et al. (2017, Systematic Biology 66: 663–697). (Krysko, Kenneth and Travis W. Taggart. 2025. Established Exotic Species. Pages 64-87 in Kirsten E. Nicholson (Editor), Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, 9th Edition. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Lawrence, Kansas. 87 pp.)

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Occurrences:; 1,439 Total; 878 Museum; 561 Other
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Province/State Distribution:
United States: Hawaii

Taxonomic Etymology:
Known for a pigmented crest.
Anolis — Possibly derived from a Caribbean (Taíno or Carib) word for lizards, standardized into Linnaean Latin.
porcatus — Latin porca = “ridge” (not “pig”) — porcatus = “ridged” or “furrowed,” referring to dorsal ridges or scale rows.

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1840 Gray, John E. Catalogue of the species of reptiles collected in Cuba by W. S. MacLeay, esq.; with some notes on their habits extracted from his MS. Annals of Natural History 5(13):108-115
1904 Barbour, Thomas. Batrachia and Reptilia from the Bahamas. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 46:55—61
1948 Oliver, James A. The anoline lizards of Bimini, Bahamas. American Museum Novitates (1383):1-36
1951 Shaw, Charles E. and Paul L. Breese. An Addition to the Herpetofauna of Hawaii. Herpetologica 7(2):68
1961 Collette, Bruce B. Correlations between ecology and morphology in anoline lizards from Havana, Cuba and southern Florida. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 125(5):137-162
1980 Buth, Donald G., George C. Gorman, and Carl S. Lieb. Genetic divergence between Anolis carolinensis and its Cuban progenitor, Anolis porcatus. Journal of Herpetology 14(3):279-284
1986 Guyer, Craig and Jay M. Savage Cladistic relationships among anoles (Sauria: Iguanidae). Systematic Zoology 35(4):509-531
1989 Cannatella, David C. and Kevin de Queiroz. Phylogenetic systematics of the Anoles: Is a new taxonomy warranted? Systematic Zoology 38(1):57-69
1992 Powell, Robert. Anolis porcatus. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (541):1-5
1997 Meshaka, Walter E., Jr., Ronald M. Clouse, Brian P. Butterfield, and J. Brian Hauge. The Cuban Green Anole, Anolis porcatus: A new anole established in Florida. Herpetological Review 28(2):101-102
2007 Kolbe, Jason L., Richard E. Glor, Lourdes Rodríguez Schettino, Ada ChamizoLara, Allan Larson, and Jonathan B. Losos. Multiple sources, admixture, and genetic variation in introduced Anolis lizard populations. Conservation Biology 21(6):1612-1625
2011 Camposano, Brian J. Morphological species verification and geographic distribution of Anolis (Sauria:Polychrotidae) in Florida. Thesis. University of Florida, Gainesville. 131pp.
2017 Poe, Steven, A., Adrián Nieto-montes de Oca, Omar Torres-carvajal, Kevin De Queiroz, Julián A. Velasco, Brad Truett, Levi N. Gray, Mason J. Ryan, Gunther Köhler, Fernando Ayala-varela, and Ian Latella. A phylogenetic, biogeographic, and taxonomic study of all extant species of Anolis (Squamata; Iguanidae). Systematic Biology 66(5):663–697
2019 Wegener, Johanna E., Jessica N. Pita‐Aquino, Jessica Atutubo, Adam Moreno, and Jason J. Kolbe. Hybridization and rapid differentiation after secondary contact between the native green anole (Anolis carolinensis) and the introduced green anole (Anolis porcatus). Ecology and Evolution 9::4138–4148

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 15 August 2026 11:43 CT