NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Green anole
Anolis carolinensis Voigt, 1832
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
Anolis carolinensis or green anole (US: ) (among other names below) is a tree-dwelling species of anole lizard native to the southeastern United States and introduced to islands in the Pacific and Caribbean. A small to medium-sized lizard, the green anole is a trunk-crown ecomorph and can change its color to several shades from brown to green.
Other names include the Carolina anole, Carolina green anole, American anole, American green anole, North American green anole and red-throated anole. It is commonly called chameleon in the southeastern United States and sometimes referred to as the American chameleon (typically in the pet trade) due to its color-changing ability; however, it is not a true chameleon.
Wikipedia contributors, Anolis carolinensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T02:19:02.619103+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anolis carolinensis Voigt, 1832
- Name authority
- Voigt, 1832
- Common name
- Green 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 carolinensis Voigt, 1832
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 |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Anolis baccatus Bocourt, 1873 Bocourt, 1873 | synonym |
| Anolius carolinensis Voigt ex Cuvier & Voigt, 1832 Voigt ex Cuvier & Voigt, 1832 | synonym |
| Anolis carolinensis seminolus Vance, 1991 Vance, 1991 | synonym |
| Ameiua bullaris Meyer, 1795 Meyer, 1795 | synonym |
| Anolis podargicus Richardson, 1837 Richardson, 1837 | synonym |
| Lacerta principalis Linnaeus, 1758 Linnaeus, 1758 | synonym |
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=carolinensis 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:675MJ. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.