About the Green Anole Drawing
After decades of fieldwork, I have handled and observed thousands of Green Anoles (Anolis carolinensis). They are among the most familiar reptiles of the southeastern United States, appearing on tree trunks, shrubs, fences, porches, and garden walls. That familiarity makes them easy to overlook, but few animals place so much behavior, color, and athletic ability into such a small body.
Green Anoles have traditionally been called “American chameleons” because they can shift between shades of green and brown. They are not true chameleons, however, and their color changes are more complicated than simply matching whatever surface they happen to occupy. Temperature, light, humidity, stress, and social interactions can all influence their appearance. A bright-green animal may become dark brown within minutes, while the skin around the eye can develop patches of blue, turquoise, yellow, or black.
Their real similarity to chameleons lies less in ancestry than in the impression they create. Both are visually alert, deliberate climbers that seem to inspect their surroundings carefully before moving. A Green Anole may remain perfectly still, watching an insect with one large eye, then advance in a series of measured steps before making a sudden leap or rapid dash.
Their feet are specialized for this arboreal life. Enlarged toe pads contain rows of scales called lamellae, bearing microscopic structures that increase contact with smooth surfaces. These pads help anoles cling to leaves, bark, walls, and even glass, while their claws provide additional purchase on rougher surfaces. The long toes and slender limbs visible in the drawing are therefore not merely delicate features; they form a highly effective climbing system.
Green Anoles also communicate through an elaborate visual language. A male may raise and lower his body in push-ups, bob his head in a recognizable sequence, compress his body sideways to appear larger, and extend the brilliant pink or reddish dewlap beneath his throat. These displays can advertise possession of a perch, warn another male, or attract a female. Much of the apparent commotion seen on a sunny fence or porch is actually an exchange of information.
Displaying may prevent some encounters from becoming physical. Two males can assess one another through posture, color, dewlap extension, and movement before either commits to a fight. When conflicts do escalate, they may bite, grapple, or attempt to dislodge one another from the perch. The small lizard performing push-ups on a railing is therefore not exercising. He is making an announcement.
Females are less conspicuous but lead equally active lives. During the breeding season, a female typically produces eggs one at a time at intervals, placing each in damp soil, leaf litter, decaying wood, or another protected location. The investment in a succession of single eggs contrasts with reptiles that deposit one large clutch and illustrates another way anoles distribute reproductive effort across the season.
Green Anoles are agile predators of insects, spiders, and other small invertebrates. Their hunting combines patience with sudden speed. They scan the surrounding vegetation, orient toward movement, approach carefully, and then capture prey with a rapid burst. At the same time, they must remain alert for birds, snakes, larger lizards, and other predators capable of turning the hunter into prey.
Their long tails aid balance while climbing and jumping, but they can also break away when seized. The detached tail continues to writhe, potentially distracting a predator while the lizard escapes. A replacement eventually grows, although it differs internally and often externally from the original. Many anoles encountered around homes bear regenerated tails—visible evidence of a dangerous episode they survived.
While Eye of the Beholder focused tightly on the luminous eye and mosaic of colored scales surrounding it, Our Chameleon presents the entire animal in graphite. I wanted the folded limbs, elongated toes, resting posture, long body, and watchful expression to reveal the quiet complexity of a lizard that many people see every day without truly noticing.
The absence of color also separates this drawing from the quality that first gave the animal its familiar nickname. Without brilliant green skin or a pink dewlap to command attention, the viewer is drawn instead to structure: the fine scales, delicate limbs, gripping feet, alert eye, and graceful line of the body.
The title Our Chameleon acknowledges the traditional name while also suggesting affection and familiarity. The Green Anole is not a true chameleon, but it is our native color-changing, wall-climbing, head-bobbing lizard—a distinctive part of gardens, forests, and backyards throughout the Southeast.
Our Chameleon is a graphite-pencil wildlife drawing of a Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) by Michael E. Dorcas for Tantilla Art. Reference photograph courtesy of W. W. Lamar.