NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Puerto Rican Anole
Anolis pulchellus Duméril & Bibron, 1837
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 pulchellus, the Puerto Rican anole, Puerto Rican bush anole, snake anole, or sharp-mouthed lizard, is a small species of anole lizard in the family Dactyloidae. The species is among the most common lizards in Puerto Rico, and also native to Vieques, Culebra, and the Virgin Islands (except St. Croix).
The sharp-mouthed lizard measures approximately 35 to 43 mm (1.4 to 1.7 in) in length from snout to vent. The species has a yellow-brown color with males having a purple dewlap that blends into crimson near the tip.
The anoles of the Greater Antilles have been extensively studied since they represent an interesting case of adaptive radiation. Species are more closely related to other species within the same island than to species of adjacent islands. Even though species divergence occurred independently on each island, the same set of ecomorphs (habitat specialists) have evolved on each island. Anolis pulchellus is considered a grass-bush anole, occurring primarily in bushes or grass.
Wikipedia contributors, Anolis pulchellus; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:15:10.801122+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Anolis pulchellus Duméril & Bibron, 1837
- Name authority
- Duméril & Bibron, 1837
- Common name
- Puerto Rican 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 pulchellus Duméril & Bibron, 1837
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=pulchellus 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:67637. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.