A Green Anole on Maui

After hiking around Haleakala (the tallest dormant volcano in the world, on Maui during our vacation last week, we stopped at a Mexican restaurant for lunch. They seated us right at a window with a view of a neat little rock garden just outside. And while we were eating, this guy appeared on the rocks.  He sat in the sun for awhile, then scurried to and fro, jumped from rock to rock, then lazed in the sun some more.  Every time a fly or other insect buzzed passed him, he would lift up his head and watch it closely, but we never saw him catch one.

He has a dewlap or throatfan under his chin that he would open up from time to time.  It was bright red or orange in color and would stick out from under his neck by half an inch or so.  He wouldn't do this when I had the camera on him, though. But, here is a picture of a gecko with his dewlap out.

The waitress said it was a gecko, and they like the geckos on Maui because they eat a lot of bugs.  A gecko in your house is considered a good sign.  But after researching him up on the web, I see he is not a gecko, but  a Green Anole (Anole carolinensis), a lizard that is native to the the southern United States and was introduced to Hawaii in the 1950's.  Some say they escaped from a pet store. Who could blame the critters? Life in a Maui rock garden beats a box in a pet store.

Lizards of the Bay Area

Alligator Lizard

Western Fence Lizard

On a hot day last week, the hottest day of the year so far, we took a stroll around our neighborhood just after sunset to get some fresh air as it cooled.  As we walked along the  sidewalk, we almost stepped on a lizard, an alligator lizard (Elgaria multicarinata ) like the one in the first photo here. About 8 inches long, it didn't move at first, and sat there as motionless as a stick.  It was probably enjoying the heat stored in the sidewalk from the afternoon sun.  But we were worried it would get stepped on by the next pedestrian that passed (a lot of people go for evening walks in our neighborhood) or worse yet, run out into the busy street just feet away.  So we tried to urge it over to the edge of the sidewalk, next to a grassy area where it could take cover.  Using a stick we tried to gently prod it to safety, but the lizard decided to play dead.  We tried to pick it up with the stick, but it went limp.  We were considering our options when it suddenly ran right under us and, yes, out into the street.

You can see just a bit of his blue belly

The street there is a major thoroughfare, probably 3 cars a minute go by on average, but for some miraculous reason there wasn't a car in sight just then.  We chased the lizard as he ran in a peculiar wiggly fashion clear to the other side of the street and into some brush.  Whew, safe at last.  We went on with our walk, but I kept wondering if it would eventually leave the brush and head back into the street another time. Was it smart enough to dodge cars and feet by itself without our assistance? We may never know unless we see its poor squooshed body one day.

Also a Western Fence Lizard?

Another variety of lizard that we see in the bay area is the Western Fence Lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis).  Some of these have a bright blue belly, like the one in the second and third photos here.  We used to call them 'blue-bellies' when I was a kid.  I found this guy perched on a rock in our backyard a few weeks ago on another sunny warm day.  He took a look over his shoulder at me, and I'm not sure, but I think he winked, too.

The lizard in this last photo is the most common in these parts.  He doesn't have a blue belly, so I always thought these were a different species. But after looking through the photos on the CaliforniaHerps.com web site, I now believe this is just a paler version of the Western Fence lizard.  If someone can help us out and let us know if it is a different species, we would appreciate it.