You are here » home › advanced search › search results › Anolis capito

Anolis capito PETERS, 1863

IUCN Red List - Anolis capito - Least Concern, LC
iNaturalist logo

Can you confirm these amateur observations of Anolis capito?

Add your own observation of
Anolis capito »

Find more photos by Google images search: Google images

Higher TaxaAnolidae, Iguania, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Bighead Anole
S: Abaniquillo Jaspeado 
SynonymAnolis (Draconura) capito PETERS 1863: 142
Anolis carneus COPE 1864: 169
Anolis capito — BOULENGER 1885: 94
Anolis longipes COPE 1893: 343
Anolis capito — SMITH & TAYLOR 1950: 65
Anolis capito — ORTLEB & HEATWOLE 1965
Anolis capito — PETERS & OREJAS-MIRANDA 1970
Norops capito — GUYER & SAVAGE 1986
Anolis capito — BAUER et al. 1995: 58
Norops capito — KÖHLER 2000: 62
Norops capito — NICHOLSON 2002
Anolis capito — COOPER 2005
Anolis capito — LINER 2007
Norops capito — NICHOLSON et al. 2012
Norops capito — MCCRANIE & KÖHLER 2015: 39
Norops capito — NICHOLSON et al. 2018
Anolis capito — HEIMES 2022 
DistributionMexico (Tabasco, Chiapas, Yucatan), Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador ?, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama

Type locality: Costa Rica; restricted to Palmar by SMITH & TAYLOR 1950.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesHolotype: ZMB 4086; Syntypes: ZMB 4684, 36298 (fide BAUER et al. 1995) 
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 3926 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentDistribution: not in Yucatan state (Mexico) according to GONZÁLEZ-SÁNCHEZ et al. 2017. Not listed for El Salvador by KÖHLER (2000).

Synonymy: after Köhler et al. 2005.

Illustration: on the back cover of Iguana Rundschreiben 17 (1), 2004.

Species group: Norops auratus Species Group (fide Nicholson et al. 2012) 
EtymologyNamed after Latin capito, big-headed, having a large head. [“...unterscheidet sich von beiden durch den auffallend grofsen Kopf...”]. 
References
  • Acosta-Chaves, Víctor J.; Gerardo Chaves, Juan G. Abarca, Adrián García-Rodríguez, Federico Bolaños 2015. A checklist of the amphibians and reptiles of Río Macho Biological Station, Provincia de Cartago, Costa Rica. Check List 11 (6): 1784 - get paper here
  • Aguilar-López JL, Luría-Manzano R, Pineda E, Canseco-Márquez L 2021. Selva Zoque, Mexico: an important Mesoamerican tropical region for reptile species diversity and conservation. ZooKeys 1054: 127-153 - get paper here
  • Batista, A., Hertz, A., Ponce, M. and Lotzkat, S. 2020. Notes on amphibians and reptiles from western Panama Notes on amphibians and reptiles from western Panama. Herpetology Notes 13: 219-229. - get paper here
  • 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
  • Brattstrom, B. H., & HOWELL, T. R. 1954. Notes on some collections of reptiles and amphibians from Nicaragua. Herpetologica 10: 114-123. - get paper here
  • Campbell, J.A. 1998. Amphibians and reptiles of northern Guatemala, the Yucatán, and Belize. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, xiii + 380 pp. - get paper here
  • Cooper Jr., W.E. 2005. Duration of movement as a lizard foraging movement variable. Herpetologica 61 (4): 363-372 - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1864. Contributions to the herpetology of tropical America. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 16: 166-181. - get paper here
  • Cope, E.D. 1893. Second addition to the knowledge of the Batrachia and Reptilia of Costa Rica. Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 31: 333-347 - 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
  • Duellman, W. E. 1963. Amphibians and reptiles of the rainforest of Southern El Peten, Guatemala. Univ. Kansas Publ. Mus. Nat. Hist. 15: 205-49. - 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
  • Fuentes, Rogemif; Aschcroft, Jesse; Erick Barría, Helio Quintero-Arrieta, Alexis Baules, Abel Batista, Eduardo Zambrano, Marcos Ponce 2023. Herpetological diversity in forests of Portobelo National Park, Colón Biological Corridor, Panama. Reptiles & Amphibians 30 (1): e18434 - get paper here
  • Garrett, C.M. 1997. Eternal spring: a glimpse of Guatemala. Fauna 1 (1): 54-63
  • Griffin, R.K., Lewis, T.R., Tzanopoulos, J. et al. 2025. Natural history traits influence winners and losers for herpetological communities in disturbed tropical habitats. Oecologia 207, 52 (2025) - get paper here
  • Heimes, P. 2022. LIZARDS OF MEXICO - Part 1 Iguanian lizards. Edition Chimaira, Frankfurt Am Main, 448 pp. - get paper here
  • Henderson, C.L. 2010. Mammals, Amphibians, and Reptiles of Costa Rica - A field guide. University of Texas Press, Austin, 198 pp.
  • HERRERA-MARTÍNEZ, CHRISTIAN G.; JAVIER E. CORTÉS-SUÁREZ & ÁLVARO A. ZAMORA-RODA. 2022. Diet observations of the Big Head Anole Anolis capito (Squamata: Dactyloidae) in Costa Rica. Herpetology Notes 15: 287–289. - get paper here
  • Hilje B, Chaves G, Klank J, Timmerman F, Feltham J, Gillingwater S, Piraino T, Rojas E 2020. Amphibians and Reptiles of the Tirimbina Biological Reserve: a baseline for conservation, research and environmental education in a lowland tropical wet forest in Costa Rica. Check List 16(6): 1633-1655 - get paper here
  • Jansen, M. & G. Koehler 2002. Biogeographische Analyse der Herpetofauna von ausgewählten Hochlandgebieten Nicaraguas. Salamandra 38 (4): 269-286 - get paper here
  • Johnson, Jerry D.; Vicente Mata-Silva, Elí García Padilla, and Larry David Wilson 2015. The Herpetofauna of Chiapas, Mexico: composition, distribution, and conservation. Mesoamerican Herpetology 2 (3): 272–329. - get paper here
  • Köhler, G. 1991. Norops capito (PETERS). Sauria 13 (1): 1-2 - 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, G.; Schulz, A. & Vesely, M. 2005. Morphological variation in Norops capito (PETERS 1863), a wide-spread species in southeastern Mexico and Central America. Salamandra 41 (3): 129-136 - get paper here
  • 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
  • Koller, Rene 2005. Herpetologoische waarnemingen in Belize, deel 2: reptielen. Lacerta 63 (1): 4-19 - get paper here
  • Laking AE, Solís JM, Brown T, Maddock ST, Burdekin O, Taylor P, Lonsdale G, Green SEW, Martin TE, Galdamez JR, Kolby JE, Erens J, Jocque M 2024. The amphibians and reptiles of Cusuco National Park, Northwest Honduras: updates from a long-term conservation programme. In: Lipińska M, Lopez-Selva MM, Sierra JM (Eds) Biodiversity research in Central America. Neotropical Biology and Conservation 19(2): 37-62 - get paper here
  • Lee, J. C. 2000. A field guide to the amphibians and reptiles of the Maya world. Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
  • Lee, J.C. 1996. The amphibians and reptiles of the Yucatán Peninsula. Comstock, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, 500 pp.
  • 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
  • Melgar-Martínez, A. I., Ruan-Soto, F., Chankin-Chankayun, E., García-Padilla, E., Villalobos-Juárez, I., Mata-Silva, V., López-Esquivel, E.A.,Fucsko, L.A.; Lavariega, M.C.; Johnson, J.D.; Lazcano D. & Wilson, L. D. 2023. The amphibians and reptiles of the Northern Selva Lacandona:: Nahá and Metzabok, Ocosingo, Chiapas, México; with some ethnoherpetological notes. Biología y Sociedad, 6(12), 48-78 - get paper here
  • Mendenhall, Chase D.; Luke O. Frishkoff, Georgina Santos-Barrera, Jesús Pacheco, Eyobed Mesfun, Fernando Mendoza Quijano, Paul R. Ehrlich, Gerardo Ceballos, Gretchen C. Daily, and Robert M. Pringle 2014. Countryside biogeography of Neotropical reptiles and amphibians. Ecology 95: 856–870 - get paper here
  • Neill, Wilfred T. and E. Ross Allen. 1959. Studies on the amphibians and reptiles of British Honduras. Publications of the Research Division Ross Allen's Reptiles Institute. 2 (1): 1-76
  • 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
  • Ortleb, Edward; Heatwole, Harold 1965. Comments on some Panamanian lizards with a key to the species from Barro Colorado Island, C.Z. and vicinity. Carib. J. Sci. 5 (3-4):141-147. - 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
  • Rovito, Sean Michael; Thomas James Devitt, Susan Cameron Devitt 2015. First survey of the amphibians and reptiles of the Nectandra Cloud Forest Reserve, Alajuela, Costa Rica. Check List 11 (2): 1570 - get paper here
  • Santos-Barrera, Georgina; Jesus Pacheco, Fernando Mendoza-Quijano, Federico Bolaños,<br />Gerardo Cháves , Gretchen C. Daily, Paul R. Ehrlich & Gerardo Ceballos 2008. Diversity, natural history and conservation of amphibians and reptiles from the San Vito Region, southwestern Costa Rica. Rev. Biol. Trop. 56 (2): 755-778 - 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]
  • Scott, N.J. 1976. The abundance and diversity of the herpetofaunas of tropical forest litter. Biotropica 8 (1): 41-58 - 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. 1935. A contribution to a knowledge of the herpetology of a portion of the savanna region of Central Peten, Guatemala. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Miscellaneous Publications 29: 1-56 - get paper here
  • Stuart, L. C. 1948. The amphibians and reptiles of Alta Verapaz Guatamala. Miscellaneous Publications, Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan 69: 1-109 - 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
  • Stuart,L.C. 1955. A brief review of the Guatemalan lizards of the genus Anolis. Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool., Univ. Michigan No. 91: 1-31 - 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
  • Sunyer, Javier, José Gabriel Martínez-Fonseca and Milton Salazar-Saavedra. 2016. New departmental records for lizards in Nicaragua. Mesoamerican Herpetology 3(4): 1049–1054 - 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
  • Vitt, L.J. & P.A. Zani 2005. Ecology and Reproduction of Anolis capito in Rain Forest of Southeastern Nicaragua Journal of Herpetology 39 (1): 36-42. - get paper here
  • Wirth, Michael 2011. Lohnende Reiseziele für Amphibien- und Reptilienfreunde in Costa Rica. Draco 12 (45): 22-39 - get paper here
 
External links  
Is it interesting? Share with others:

As link to this species use URL address:

https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Anolis&species=capito

without field 'search_param'. Field 'search_param' is used for browsing search result.



Please submit feedback about this entry to the curator