Water anole
| Water anole | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Deiroptyx vermiculata | ||||||||||||
| ( Duméril & Bibron , 1837) |
The water anole ( Deiroptyx vermiculata , syn .: Anolis vermiculatus ) is a lizard from the genus Deiroptyx . Water anoles reach total lengths of up to 40 cm, the head-trunk: tail ratio is 1: 2. The crocodile-like head is brownish in both sexes, while the main color is dark green (males) or brownish (females) depending on the gender. Sometimes you can see transverse ligaments made up of many small points. The rear third and the base of the tail, which is flattened at the side, are adorned by two bright stripes on both sides. A significant difference to other anole species is the very small throat pouch, while the proportions (large tail, larger males) are the same.
This anole is found in Cuba in the province of Pinar des Rio . They live there in Cuban wet forests on trees in the immediate vicinity of the water, where the shy animals usually orient themselves and flee in case of danger.
Thanks to the flattened tail, they can swim and dive well and climb well with their sticky feet, which are similar to those of geckos . If necessary, the animals can stay under water for up to 25 minutes. They actively hunt their prey both on land and in the water. Out of the water they feed on arthropods and their larvae , under water they hunt fish .
After mating, the females of the water anole lay eggs in crevices (not in a self-dug nest). There the young hatch within 70 days, which are then about 9 cm tall.
swell
- Manfred Rogner : Lizards. Care and breeding in the terrarium. Volume 1: geckos, pinnipeds, agamas, chameleons and iguanas. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8001-7248-8 .