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The Knight Anole, Anolis equestris, is a most fascinating lizard.
Endemic to Cuba, where it is widely distributed, the species

has been in Florida for half a century. There, it has become an
ubiquitous member of southern Florida’s exotic herpetofaunal
community. Ecologically, this species stands out as a very un-
anole-like anole. It is very large, the largest species in the genus,
reaching nearly 60 cm in total length. It is omnivorous. It sits and
waits for prey or actively forages for invertebrates, small verte-
brates, and the tender foliage and fruits of various plants. The
texture of its skin is far more similar to a chameleon-like suede

than the typical dry and sandy feel of most other anoles.
Likewise, its eyes, casqued head, and careful movements are more
like those of the true chameleons (Chameleo spp.) or its ancient
Cuban relatives (anoles formerly placed in the genus Chameleolis)
than those of the more evolutionarily derived anoles with which
it shares its home in southern Florida. These lizards’ odd outlines,
exacerbated by the prominent head casques, the broken and vari-
able color patterns dominated by greens of various hues, and
their often deliberate style of movement causes them to be easily
overlooked by friends and foes alike.

S P E C I E S  P R O F I L E

Species Profile: The Knight Anole, Anolis equestris, 
in Southern Florida

Walter E. Meshaka, Jr.

State Museum of Pennsylvania, Section of Zoology and Botany, Harrisburg, PA 17120-0024

A rather odd profile, exacerbated by a prominent head casque, plus the broken and variable color patterns dominated by greens of var-
ious hues render these lizards very cryptic despite their large size. Photograph by Joe Burgess.

162 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 11, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2004 SPECIES PROFILE



IGUANA  •  VOLUME 11, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2004 163SPECIES PROFILE

Because of its role as a large, successful predator and the fact
that it utilizes arboreal habitats that overlap with those used by
the anoles it often eats, Knight Anoles are likely to be a major
force in shaping the anoline assemblage of southern Florida,
much of which consists of introduced species, mostly from
Caribbean islands. Orlando Garrido, an eminent Cuban her-
petologist, once predicted, for example, that Cuban Green
Anoles (Anolis porcatus) would never successfully colonize south-
ern Florida, mainly because Knight Anoles, which routinely eat
their smaller relatives, were so abundant. That the Cuban Green
Anoles have apparently succeeded attests more to the abundance
of cover in the dense groves of ornamental plants that character-
ize most urban and suburban communities in southern Florida
than to any deficiency of Knight Anoles as predators.

From the standpoint of a colonizing species, much remains
to be studied, but Knight Anoles appear to follow closely the pat-
tern seen in Florida’s Green Iguanas and they many other species
of introduced amphibians and reptiles: they are abundant human
commensals with enviable reproductive potential and which are
eminently capable of taking full advantage of the artificially lush
habitats of southern and especially coastal Florida.

References
Meshaka, Jr., W.E. 1999. Research and thoughts on the Knight Anole,

Anolis equestris, in southern Florida. The Anolis Newsletter
(4):86–88.

Meshaka, Jr., W.E., B.P. Butterfield, and J.B. Hauge. 2004. Exotic
Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. Krieger Publ. Co., Malabar, FL.

Meshaka, Jr., W.E. and K.G. Rice. 2004. The Knight Anole (Anolis
equestris): Ecology of a successful colonizing species in extreme
southern mainland Florida. In: W.E. Meshaka, Jr. and K.J. Babbitt

(eds.), Status and Conservation of Florida Amphibians and Reptiles.
Krieger Publ, Co., Malabar, FL.

Schwartz, A. and R.W. Henderson. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the
West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History. Univ.
Florida Press, Gainesville.

These lizards are striking and cryptic at the same time. Photograph
by Walter E. Meshaka, Jr.

These large anoles are most frequently seen when they bask on trunks of trees. Photograph by Joe Burgess.


