Dominica Anole

Open encyclopedia reference

Anolis oculatus, the Dominica anole, Dominican anole, eyed anole or zandoli, is a species of anole lizard. It is endemic to the Caribbean island of Dominica, where it is found in most environments. The species is found in a diverse range of color forms, which one herpetologist once classified as four subspecies, which most other scientists did not recognise because the forms gradually inter-grade with one another. Two later researchers have instead promoted the "ecotypes" concept, hypothesizing the color forms are maintained by the ecological conditions of the surrounding environment, despite being genetically indistinguishable. The morphology of some traits is subject to clinal variation, gradually changing from one side of the island to the other, or from sea level to the hilltops. The ground color ranges from pale tan or yellow to deep green or brown. It also has patterned markings that range from light-colored speckling to complex marbled patterns, and some populations also have large black-ringed "eye" spots on their flanks. The Dominican anole spends much of the time in trees but mainly hunts on the ground.

Wikipedia contributors, Anolis oculatus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T04:08:50.079784+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Anolis oculatus (Cope, 1879)

Name authority

(Cope, 1879)

Common name

Dominica Anole

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Reptilia

Order

Squamata

Family

Anolidae

Genus

Anolis

Extinction status

Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
10. suborderIguania
11. familyAnolidae
12. genusAnolis
13. speciesAnolis oculatus (Cope, 1879)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Anolis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

Browse 395 records assigned to Anolidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Anolis&species=oculatus Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:5V5R5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.