LOCAL VIBE American Chameleon

The green anole, a small and common lizard, was first introduced to Hawai‘i in the 1950s to be sold in pet shops. Anoles are an extremely diverse and plentiful group with nearly 400 species found throughout the southeastern U.S., West Indies, Mexico and Central and South America differing in behavior, physiology and ecology. They are now the most popularly spotted lizards in the Hawaiian Islands and are useful in pest control.

Anole are closely related to iguanas and sometimes termed the “American chameleon” for their color-changing qualities, although they are not true chameleons. Their color spectrum ranges from the brightest of greens to dull brown tones. Their camouflaging effect is related to their body temperature and mood, though it does seem like anoles like to color match their backgrounds. The spectrum of color change is due to three layers of pigment cells: yellows (xanthophores), blues (cyanophores), and browns (melanophores). There is also an extremely rare baby blue phase of the anoles color mutations, only found in one out of every 20,000 green anoles living in the wild.