I met this jaunty little anole outside a restaurant recently.
I tried not to stare, but something was definitely odd about the skin on his head.
Has the skin had actually been scraped off? Eww. Or is that just discoloration? An infection? Problem with molting?
He disappeared around a corner before I could probe further.
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Green anole (Anolis carolinensis).
Friday Ark.
Kinda looks like an anole mohawk. Maybe he's just a punk.
ReplyDeleteI think moltus interruptus.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a few like that too.
Welcome back.
my college room mate kept lizards and from my low rez vantage it looks like an infection.
ReplyDeleteInteresting - I just came back inside and I saw a lizard that looked like it was covered in spiderwebs. After taking a closer look I decided that it's more like the old dry skin he hasn't shed yet. Looks somewhat similar to your guy but mine had a full body suit, not just a hat :)
ReplyDeleteI vote for molting, too. Nice example of it, although it makes you want to help the little guy out, doesn't it? He's going to look a little silly bobbing his crusty head in the ritual to compete for females and/or territory, though.
ReplyDeleteperhaps the problem was someone else's further probing?
ReplyDeletei saw a little anole at a restaurant the other day too. he was missing most of his tail, and he was molting but that didn't stop him from displaying and bobbing.
CPP, he does look punkish!
ReplyDeleteFC, I had that idea last of them all, but I think you're right. Thanks.
Karl, when I looked at it closer it did appear to be peeling, but it may be because of an infection rather than regular molting. I'm not sure how you'd tell!
Leon, LOL!
TCE, it didn't seem to be bothering him at all, he was acting normally.
Erika, he wasn't displaying, but he certainly didn't act sick at all...
Pamela, oh let's hope not! :)
I haven't looked up yet whether this kind of lizard sheds or not, but you know what it makes me think of is that white nose fungus that's infecting bats now. From the pics I've seen it seems similar--so maybe it's got a fungus? Or not.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fungus.
ReplyDeleteAll lizards shed their skin as they grow, and it is supposed to come off in large, loose pieces.
I have seen Anoles with fungal infections before, and I keep lizards and other reptiles as a hobby.
It is uncommon, but if an anole lives in humid conditions without ventilation, various pathogenic fungi can grow on their skin.
Usually this results in the animal in question getting picked off by a predator, as it reduces their ability to evade predation or their ability to avoid being noticed by predators.