The identity of the introduced green anole (Reptilia: Squamata) of Hawaii and other Pacific islands

Abstract

Green anoles of the Anolis carolinensis Voigt, 1832 species group have been become successfully established by human transport on many islands in the Pacific, from Okinawa in the west to Hawaii in the east. First recorded from Oahu in 1950, from the time of their discovery, and for decades afterwards, the green anoles of the Pacific were identified as the Cuban green anole, Anolis porcatus. We show that Pacific green anoles are readily distinguished from A. porcatus by the larger head scales of A. porcatus but are essentially indistinguishable from A. carolinensis from South Carolina, which come from within the range of the same mtDNA clade as the source of the Pacific invasion in Texas and Louisiana. Genetically distinct A. carolinensis from southern Florida are intermediate in scale size, differing in this respect from Pacific green anoles. These results are in harmony with recent molecular genetic studies on the phylogeny and status of green anoles from the Pacific, North America, and Cuba. The green anole of the Pacific is A. carolinensis sensu stricto.