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Anolis cupreus HALLOWELL, 1860

IUCN Red List - Anolis cupreus - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaAnolidae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Copper Anole 
SynonymAnolis cupreus HALLOWELL 1860: 481
Anolis hoffmanni PETERS 1863: 142
Anolis cupreus — BOULENGER 1885: 80
Anolis cupreus — DUNN 1930: 17
Anolis cupreus — STUART 1963
Anolis cupreus hoffmanni FITCH et al. 1972: 16
Anolis cupreus spilomelas FITCH, ECHELLE & ECHELLE 1972: 17
Anolis cupreus spilomelas — FITCH 1976
Anolis cupreus spilomelas — FITCH & HILLIS 1984
Anolis cupreus dariense FITCH & SEIGEL 1984: 6
Norops cupreus — GUYER & SAVAGE 1986
Anolis cupreus — KÖHLER 2000: 62
Norops cupreus — NICHOLSON 2002
Norops dariense — SAVAGE 2002
Norops dariense — MCCRANIE et al. 2006
Norops dariense — NICHOLSON et al. 2012
Norops cupreus — NICHOLSON et al. 2012
Norops dariense — SUNYER 2014
Norops cupreus — MCCRANIE & KÖHLER 2015: 55
Anolis cupreus — NICHOLSON et al. 2018
Norops dariense — NICHOLSON et al. 2018
Norops dariense — SUNYER & MARTÍNEZ-FONSECA 2023
Anolis dariense — LÓPEZ-MAROTO et al. 2023 
DistributionHonduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica

Type locality: Nicaragua

dariense: Nicaragua, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama; Type locality: Puente Carlos Fonseca Amador on W side of divide between Boaco and Camoapa, Dep. de Boaco, Nicaragua.

hoffmanni: Costa Rica; Type locality: “Costa Rica”; restricted to “Cartago, Cartago Province, Costa Rica, by FITCH et al. 1972.

spilomelas: Costa Rica; Type locality: Quepos, Puntarenas Province, Costa Rica.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: USNM 12211, INHS (= UIMNH) 40733; C. Wright; December 14, 1903.
Holotype: KU (given as UKNHM) 195081, adult male [dariense]
Holotype: ZMB 4687, erroneously listed as ZMB 4690 by FITCH 1972 [hoffmanni]
Holotype: KU 140593, paratypes: CAS, MCZ, KU, H.S. Fitch 1970. [spilomelas] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 1395 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSubspecies: Anolis cupreus macrophallus WERNER has been elevated to species status by KÖHLER & KREUTZ 1999.

Distribution: Mertens 1952 lists this species also for El Salvador. Stuart 1963 lists the species for Guatemala.

Synonymy: MCCRANIE & KÖHLER 2015: 56 conclude that N. dariense is a synonym of N. cupreus. Although differences in mean values in some characters were documented, there was still large overlap between the two nominal forms in all characters examined.

Species group: Norops auratus Species Group (fide Nicholson et al. 2012, 2018) 
EtymologyNamed after Latin “cupreus” = copper, often used for reddish colors.

N. dariense is named after the Cordillera Dariense where this (sub-) species occurs. 
References
  • Boulenger, G.A. 1885. Catalogue of the lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Vol. 2, Second edition. London, xiii+497 pp. - get paper here
  • Crandell, Kristen E.; Anthony Herrel, Mahmood Sasa, Jonathan B. Losos, Kellar Autumn 2014. Stick or grip? Co-evolution of adhesive toepads and claws in Anolis lizards. Zoology 117 (6): 363-369 - get paper here
  • Curlis JD, Fisher EC, Muhic WK, Moy J, Garro-Cruz M, Montero-Ramírez JJ 2020. A survey of the reptiles and amphibians at the University of Georgia Costa Rica field station in San Luis de Monteverde, Costa Rica. Check List 16(6): 1433-1456 - get paper here
  • Dunn, E. R. 1930. Notes on Central American Anolis. Proc. New England Zool. Club 12: 15-24
  • Fitch, H. S. 1976. Sexual size difference in the mainland anoles. Occ. Pap. Mus. Nat. Hist. Univ. Kansas 50:21 pp. - get paper here
  • Fitch, H. S., & HILLIS, D. M. 1984. The Anolis dewlap: interspecific variability and morphological associations with habitat. Copeia 1984 (2): 315-323 - get paper here
  • Fitch, H. S., & SEIGEL, R. A. 1984. Ecological and taxonomic notes on Nicaraguan anoles. Milwaukee Publ. Mus. Contrib. Biol. & Geol. No. 57, 13 pp. - get paper here
  • Fitch, H. S., ECHELLE, A. A., & ECHELLE, A. E 1972. Variation in the Central American iguanid lizard Anolis cupreus, with the description of a new subspecies. Occ. Pap. Mus. Zool. Univ. Kansas 8: 1-20
  • Fitch,H.S. 1975. Sympatry and interrelationships in Costa Rica anoles. Occ. Pap. Mus. Nat. Hist. Univ. Kansas 40: 1-60. - get paper here
  • Hallowell, E. 1861. Report upon the Reptilia of the North Pacific Exploring Expedition, under command of Capt. John Rogers, U. S. N. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 12 [1860]: 480 - 510 - get paper here
  • Henderson, C.L. 2010. Mammals, Amphibians, and Reptiles of Costa Rica - A field guide. University of Texas Press, Austin, 198 pp.
  • Jansen, M. & G. Koehler 2002. Biogeographische Analyse der Herpetofauna von ausgewählten Hochlandgebieten Nicaraguas. Salamandra 38 (4): 269-286 - get paper here
  • Köhler, G. 2000. Reptilien und Amphibien Mittelamerikas, Bd 1: Krokodile, Schildkröten, Echsen. Herpeton Verlag, Offenbach, 158 pp.
  • Köhler, G. 2008. Reptiles of Central America. 2nd Ed. Herpeton-Verlag, 400 pp.
  • KÖHLER, GUNTHER 2014. Characters of external morphology used in Anolis taxonomy—Definition of terms, advice on usage, and illustrated examples. Zootaxa 3774 (2): 201–257 - get paper here
  • Köhler, Günther and Jörg Kreutz. 1999. Norops macrophallus (Werner, 1917), a valid species of anole from Guatemala and El Salvador (Squamata: Sauria: Iguanidae). Herpetozoa 12 (1-2): 57-65 - get paper here
  • López-Maroto, V., Sunyer, J., & García-Roa, R. 2023. The herpetofauna of Cerro Jesús María (Cordillera Dipilto-Jalapa), the second highest mountain in Nicaragua. Bol. Asoc. Herpetol. Esp. 34 - get paper here
  • Martínez-Fonseca JG, Holmes IA, Sunyer J, Westeen EP, Grundler MR, Cerda PA, Fernández-Mena MA, Loza-Molina JC, Monagan IV Jr., Nondorf D, Pandelis GG, Rabosky ARD 2023. A collection and analysis of amphibians and reptiles from Nicaragua with new country and departmental records. Check List 20(1): 58-125 - get paper here
  • McCranie, James R. 2015. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with additions, comments on taxonomy, some recent taxonomic decisions, and areas of further studies needed. Zootaxa 3931 (3): 352–386 - get paper here
  • McCranie, James R. 2018. The Lizards, Crocodiles, and Turtles of Honduras. Systematics, Distribution, and Conservation. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Special Publication Series (2): 1- 666 - get paper here
  • McCranie, James R. and Gunther Köhler 2015. The Anoles (Reptilia: Squamata: Dactyloidae: Anolis: Norops) of Honduras. Systematics, Distribution, and Conservation. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard (Special Publication Series, No. 1): 1-280 [review in Q. J. Biol. 91: 227] - get paper here
  • McCranie; James R.; Kirsten E. Nicholson; Gunther Köhler 2001. A new species of Norops (Squamata: Polychrotidae) from northwestern Honduras. Amphibia-Reptilia 22 (4): 465-473 - get paper here
  • Mertens, R. 1952. Die Amphibien und Reptilien von El Salvador. Abh. senckenb. naturf. Ges. (Frankfurt) (No. 487): 120 pp.
  • Nicholson KE, C. Guyer, and JG Phillips 2017. Biogeographic Origin of Mainland Norops (Squamata: Dactyloidae). Assumptions Inhibiting Progress in Comparative Biology (eds. Crother and Parenti), pp. 169–184
  • Nicholson, K.E. 2002. Phylogenetic analysis and a test of the current infrageneric classification of Norops (beta Anolis). Herpetological Monographs 16: 93-120 - get paper here
  • Nicholson, Kirsten E., James R. McCranie and Gunther Köhler 2000. Herpetofaunal expedition to Parque Nacional Patuca: a newly established park in Honduras. Herpetological Bulletin (72): 26-31. - get paper here
  • NICHOLSON, KIRSTEN E.; BRIAN I. CROTHER, CRAIG GUYER & JAY M. SAVAGE 2012. It is time for a new classification of anoles (Squamata: Dactyloidae). Zootaxa 3477: 1–108 - get paper here
  • NICHOLSON, KIRSTEN E.; BRIAN I. CROTHER, CRAIG GUYER & JAY M. SAVAGE 2018. Translating a clade based classification into one that is valid under the international code of zoological nomenclature: the case of the lizards of the family Dactyloidae (Order Squamata). Zootaxa 4461 (4): 573–586 - get paper here
  • Peters, Wilhem Carl Hartwig 1863. Über einige neue Arten der Saurier-Gattung Anolis. Monatsber. königl. Akad. Wiss. Berlin. 1863 (März): 135-149. - get paper here
  • Poe, S. 2004. Phylogeny of anoles. Herpetological Monographs 18: 37-89 - get paper here
  • Poe, S. 2013. 1986 Redux: New genera of anoles (Squamata: Dactyloidae) are unwarranted. Zootaxa 3626 (2): 295–299 - get paper here
  • Poe, Steven 2025. A Guide to the Anolis Lizards (Anoles) of Mainland Central and South America. Princeton University Press, 432 pp. - get paper here
  • Sasa, M., Arias, E., & Chaves, G. 2025. Annotated list of amphibians and reptiles of Costa Rica: The role of the Museum of Zoology in cataloging the country’s herpetological diversity. Revista de Biología Tropical, 73(S2): e64536-e64536 - get paper here
  • Savage, J.M. 2002. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica: A Herpetofauna Between Two Continents, Between Two Seas. University of Chicago Press, 934 pp. [review in Copeia 2003 (1): 205]
  • Serrano, Jose Manuel 2018. La condición física del lagarto Anolis cupreus (Squamata: Dactyloidae) y su relación con la estructura del hábitat durante la estación seca. Cuad. herpetol. 32 (2): - get paper here
  • Solís, J. M., L. D. Wilson, and J. H. Townsend. 2014. An updated list of the amphibians and reptiles of Honduras, with comments on their nomenclature. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1: 123–144 - get paper here
  • Stuart, L.C. 1963. A checklist of the herpetofauna of Guatemala. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan (No. 122): 1-150 - get paper here
  • Sunyer, Javier 2014. An updated checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Nicaragua. Mesoamerican Herpetology 1 (2): 186–202. - get paper here
  • Sunyer, Javier & José́ Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca 2023. An updated country checklist to the amphibians and reptiles of Nicaragua. REVISTA NICARAGÜENSE DE BIODIVERSIDAD (100): 1-25 - get paper here
  • Taylor, E. H. 1956. A review of the lizards of Costa Rica. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 38 (part 1): 3-322 - get paper here
 
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