Anolis cooki

Anolis cooki, also known commonly as Cook's anole, Cook's pallid anole, and the Guanica pallid anole, is a species of lizard in the family Dactyloidae. The species is endemic to Puerto Rico.

Anolis cooki
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Dactyloidae
Genus:	Anolis
Species:	A. cooki
Binomial name
Anolis cooki Grant, 1931
Synonyms[2][3]
Anolis cristatellus cooki Grant, 1931 Anolis cooki — Thomas, 1966 Anolis cooki — Schwartz & Henderson, 1991 Ctenonotus cooki — Nicholson et al., 2012

Etymology

The specific name, cooki, is in honor of Melville Thurston Cook (1869–1952), who was an American botanist and entomologist.^[4]

Geographic range

A. cooki is found in southwestern Puerto Rico, including the island of Caja de Muertos.^[1][2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of A. cooki is forest, at altitudes from sea level to 100 m (330 ft).^[1]

Description

Moderate-sized for the genus Anolis, males of A. cooki may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 7 cm (2.8 in). Females are smaller, attaining 6 cm (2.4 in) SVL.^[2]

Reproduction

A. cooki is oviparous.^[1][2]

Taxonomy

A. cooki was originally described as a subspecies of Anolis cristatellus but raised to species rank in 1966.^[3] In 2012 Nicholson et al. "split" the genus Anolis and placed A. cooki in the genus Ctenonotus, a move which has not been widely accepted.^[2]