Greater Antillean anoles (genus Anolis) are a textbook example of a phenomenon known as replicated adaptive radiation, where related species evolving on different islands diversify into similar sets of species that occupy the same ecological niches.
Examples of this could be long-tailed grass dwellers, bright green canopy lizards, and stocky brown species that perch low on tree trunks, each living in similar environments on more than one island.
Although most Greater Antillean anoles may have a matching counterpart on another island, scientists have long known that a sizeable fraction do not – roughly one fifth of the region’s anole species are ‘exceptions to the rule’ so far.read more
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