What kind of lizard is this?

wdinc01 · #1 05-17-2009, 08:26 AM

This morning I walked out into my backyard to let me dog out, and my dad asks me to come look at this lizard. He thought it was an iguana (it definitely wasn't), but to be honest I have no clue what it is. So, I took a picture!

Anyone have any clue what it might be? I couldn't zoom in because it was with my camera phone, so I had to get really close without scaring it away.

bassteban · #2 05-17-2009, 08:33 AM

I know very little about reptiles, but I wouldn't rule out iguana; I'd imagine there are several varieties. Nice mohawk, whatever it is.

wdinc01 · #3 05-17-2009, 08:39 AM

I agree, he has a very nice mohawk. And I think I was confusing iguana with chameleon. It very well could be some kind of iguana!

Joe Gress · #4 05-17-2009, 08:54 AM

Dude has a better mohawk than JT.

CDRhom · #5 05-17-2009, 09:23 AM

There is a good chance that it's a Crested Alligator Lizard (Carytophanes Cristatus). But that's just my best guess.

blueskid · #6 05-17-2009, 09:38 AM

it is the awesome lizard! scientific name awesomous lizardus

Quadcam · #7 05-17-2009, 10:01 AM

Doesnt look likeany of ours around here. How big is it, It kinda looks like a Basilisk
probably someones escaped pet

wdinc01 · #8 05-17-2009, 10:28 AM

About the average size of any other lizard that you see running around. Maybe four or five inches long.

rustynuts · #9 05-17-2009, 10:41 AM

That head looks like an anole (what many people refer to as "chameleons" in the US) so I'd say it's probably a crested anole (Anolis cristatellus), a non-native species common in Florida.

Quadcam · #10 05-17-2009, 11:33 AM

I think you're right, it looked much bigger in the pic.

rustynuts · #11 05-17-2009, 11:42 AM

That be the little bugger. I used to catch them on occasion down in Florida. They're a lot more interesting than our common green anoles, especially when they are in defense mode with the dorsal crest fully raised.

KeithBMI · #12 05-17-2009, 11:47 AM

I've owned anoles and that looks like an anole.

MakiSupaStar · #13 05-17-2009, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blueskid

it is the awesome lizard! scientific name awesomous lizardus

I don't know why but this made me spray cereal across my monitor.

rustynuts · #14 05-17-2009, 12:16 PM

That happens rather commonly with members of the species Bassist retardis.

Joe Nerve · #15 05-17-2009, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustynuts

That happens rather commonly with members of the species Bassist retardis.

And there goes my cereal.

Gard · #16 05-17-2009, 12:45 PM

Yup, Crested Anole.

They were becoming pretty common in the Orlando area when I left there back in '05, seemed to actually be crowding out the green ones. Guess they're spreading north pretty quickly...wonder how far they'll make it.

We don't have any here...green or otherwise...kinda sad actually, I like lizards...

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustynuts

That happens rather commonly with members of the species Bassist retardis.

Also a correct species identification, you're on a roll, two for two!

bassteban · #17 05-17-2009, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustynuts

They're a lot more interesting than our common green anoles, especially when they are in defense mode with the dorsal crest fully raised.

Funny- I raise my crest when I go to *Barry White voice on/Business time* mode, but that's just me.

wdinc01 · #18 05-17-2009, 02:03 PM

So further Googling brings me to conclude that it's a Puerto Rican Crested Anole. So I guess it's kind of amazing that it got all the way up here and into my backyard.

rustynuts · #19 05-17-2009, 02:24 PM

I wouldn't be too shocked, it's a species that's been imported for years in the pet trade. People buy them, get bored and turn them loose in the nearest clump of trees. Florida just has a mild enough climate for them to survive, and down south (Miami-Dade and the Keys) they thrive, and even breed.

Gard · #20 05-17-2009, 02:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rustynuts

I wouldn't be too shocked, it's a species that's been imported for years in the pet trade. People buy them, get bored and turn them loose in the nearest clump of trees. Florida just has a mild enough climate for them to survive, and down south (Miami-Dade and the Keys) they thrive, and even breed.

I wasn't exaggerating about them in Orlando, they're no longer just a few "bored kids turning them loose", they're everywhere, when I left in '05, they were more common in my neighborhood than the green anoles. I would not be surprised that they had spread to J-ville at all.