Today as I walked past the kitchen window I noticed this little guy/gal on the screen. It is called a Green Anole and is sometimes referred to as the American chameleon due to its color-changing abilities from green to brown; however, it is not a true chameleon. It is in fact a relative to the Iguana.
Of course I had to do my research on my new friend and found that, the typical coloration for a green anole ranges from the richest and brightest of greens to the darkest of browns, with little variation in between. There are a few exceptions, however, which are caused when a lack in one of the pigment genes occurs. There are 3 layers of pigment that make up the green anole color spectrum: the Xanthophores, responsible for the yellow pigmentation; Cyanophores, responsible for the blue pigmentation, and Melanophores, responsible for the brown and black pigmentation. The combination of the Xanthophores and Cyanophores are what make up the different arrays of green seen in the green anole, whereas the Melanophores are responsible for its change to brown when the anole is cold, stressed, or just needs to warm up for the day. When there is a lack of one of these pigments, color mutations, or also called "phases," can occur. In particular, this can lead to the incidence of the rare and beautiful blue-phased green anole, which lacks Xanthophores, or the yellow pigment that makes up the green hues of the green anole's color spectrum. What results is a blue, often baby or pastel blue, anole. Colonies of these rare color-phased anoles have been reported, but anoles with these color mutations rarely live for long, since the green anole relies on its green and brown camouflage to hunt down prey as well as hide from predators.
I have been wanting to try and catch one for some time and finally went for it. It was very timid and I took my time so as not to scare it to death. Once I coaxed it onto my finger it just chilled and was very relaxed. I was able to rub it's back and side belly which it seemed to enjoy, because when I went to put it back on the screen, it did not want to go. In fact in crawled off then turned around and came back on my hand. I hope I can get it to come back to me again soon.
When I first caught this little beauty it was brown. Within a few minutes it had turned to green. I guess that means it was relaxed and warm.
Waianapanapa State Park, Hana The linear arrangement of smooth rocks is not a coincidence. It's a small segment of a path that at one time circled the entire island and was traversed only by the ali'i (royalty), everyone else had to walk on the dirt or sharp a'a (jagged lava rock).
On the road Me either fighting sleep or nausea on another backseat ride from Hana. Whoo-hoo...pass the dramamine!
Waihee, West Maui Mountains We stopped here at the Waihee Ridge trailhead with Mom and Dad to treat them to some stunning views of cane fields on the slopes of Haleakala.
Kmart, Kahului It was the only pink one in the entire display...what's up with that. And I didn't turn it so it would face me. We just turned the corner and there it was..."hi, i'm pink!"
Baldwin Beach, Paia An unusually calm day at a primarily windy beach
Puunene, Maui My search for Maui Friends of the Library bookstore took me through the ghost town that was once a thriving community centered around the still functioning sugar mill. I had to snap a pic of the desolate surroundings which are best summed up in this one of the old church...It's VERY windy here. I expected to see tumbleweeds. Got red dust instead. Truly beautiful.
Claremont, New Jersey My dear friends Chrystine and Eddie brought a new life into the world named Stephen this past June. Thanks to pic messaging, I get to feel like I'm there after Chrystine fills me in 0n all the baby happenings. She snapped this pic of herself and the bean.
