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22 IGUANA  •  VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2006 POWELL

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Male anoles (genus Anolis) are fiercely territorial. Although ritual behaviors involv-
ing posture, orientation, and head-bobs with dewlap extensions often dissuade

an interloper from seriously challenging a resident male, battles sometimes ensue —
and they can become violent, often leaving wounds that frequently become infected.
Large abscesses on the jaws of males are a common sight.

In this instance, a male Crested Anole (Anolis cristatellus, the darker, slightly
smaller individual with the notch in his tail crest) had established a domain dominated
by a small palm tree on the grounds of the resort on Guana Island (British Virgin
Islands) — only to find himself confronted one morning in October 2005 by a seri-
ous rival.

Each quickly assumed a threatening posture involving lateral presentation, erec-
tion of the nuchal (nape) crest, an inflated body, elevated tail, and gaping jaws (facing
page) in an effort to convince his counterpart that further efforts were futile. Each pos-
sessed an advantage, the resident was defending an established territory with which he
was intimately familiar, but the interloper was slightly larger. Circling each other in an
attempt to establish and hold the high ground (top left), all caution was thrown to the
wind and jaws locked in an attempt to throw the other to the ground (top center and
right). The interloper succeeded on three occasions, with the resident quickly reen-
gaging in what had now become open warfare.

Eventually, larger size prevailed, and the former resident was banished to the outer
reaches of the fronds from which he soon disappeared from view. Within minutes, the
proud victor claimed the spoils of battle (right) and life went on in the sometimes vio-
lent world of lizards.

Lizard Warfare
Robert Powell

Avila University, Kansas City, MO

IGUANA  •  VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1  •  MARCH 2006 23LIZARD WARFARE

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