NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Dwarf Anole
Anolis occultus Williams & Rivero, 1965
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
The Puerto Rican twig anole or dwarf anole (Anolis occultus) is a species of small, arboreal anole endemic to Puerto Rico and primarily inhabiting the Cordillera Central from the Sierra de Cayey range in the Southeast to the central-western ranges of Maricao. A mostly grey to olive-brown bodied lizard, A. occultus is the smallest of the Puerto Rican anoles with a snout to vent length of 34–42 mm. In comparison to other twig anoles, A. occultus is extremely cryptic through its unique sleeping behaviors and mottled pattern. Sleeping behavior including site selection minimizes the probability of predator encounter along with A. occultus' extensive list of antipredator behaviors.
Wikipedia contributors, Anolis occultus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:18:54.596814+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anolis occultus Williams & Rivero, 1965
- Name authority
- Williams & Rivero, 1965
- Common name
- Dwarf 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderIguania
- familyAnolidae
- genusAnolis
- speciesAnolis occultus Williams & Rivero, 1965
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Anolis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Blue-lipped forest anoleAnolis bombiceps Cope, 1875 | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Branch AnoleAnolis birama Garrido, 1990 | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Hummelinck's AnoleAnolis blanquillanus Hummelinck, 1940 | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Cuban Variegated AnoleAnolis bremeri Barbour, 1914 | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Ayala's AnoleAnolis calimae Ayala, Harris & Williams, 1983 | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Anolis anatoloros Ugueto, Rivas, Barros, Sánchez-Pacheco & García-Pérez, 2007 | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Chiapas Ornate AnoleAnolis anisolepis Smith, Burley & Fritts, 1968 | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Bay Islands AnoleAnolis bicaorum (Köhler, 1996) | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Boulenger's AnoleAnolis apollinaris Boulenger, 1919 | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Panther AnoleAnolis bimaculatus (Sparrman, 1784) | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Giant Green AnoleAnolis biporcatus (Wiegmann, 1834) | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Odd AnoleAnolis dissimilis Williams, 1965 | AnolidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Anolis&species=occultus 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:5V635. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.