Our knowledge of the natural history of giant anoles, such
as Anolis cuvieri, is relatively
poor. Yesterday I had the opportunity to observe two events that are
relatively rarely witnessed in this species. These included a male courting a
female and a male-male agonistic interaction. Furthermore, the events occurred
sequentially. First, a male began to display to a female and then chased her in
an attempt to initiate copulation. As illustrated by the photo below, the
copulation attempt progressed to the stage at which the male bites the nuchal
region of the female while trying to orient his body
properly.
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| A. cuvieri copulation attempt
Unfortunately for the first male, another male interrupted
the copulation. Thus began a long period of aggressive displays between the
males. This agonistic event included each male presenting laterally,
dewlapping, head-bobbing, and opening its mouths with protruded tongue.
Interestingly, neither male was willing to cede the "higher ground",
resulting in both individuals constantly moving up their respective perches.
Which lasted until both males reached the canopy of their respective perches, a
point at which one of the males began to exhibit what appears to be submissive
behaviors. These types of observations are clear reminders that "boots on
the ground" are needed if we want to understand the complexity and
diversity of social behaviors.
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