Behavior and Ecology of the Cuban "Chipojos Bobos" Chamaeleolis barbatus and C. porcus

Morphologically, the five recognized species of Chamaeleolis (C. agueroi, C. barbatus, C. chamaeleontides, C. guamuhaya, and C. porcus), all endemic to Cuba, are among the most bizarre West Indian lizards. Chamaeleolis is characterized by a prominent bony head casque, relatively large body size (snout-vent length [SVL] of up to 177 mm), proportionately short limbs, cryptic coloration, the ability to move its eyes independently, and lack of tail autotomy (Wilson, 1957; Garrido and Schwartz, 1968; Williams and Rand, 1969). Based on these features, Chamaeleolis traditionally has been considered to be an early offshoot of the anoline lizard radiation that diverged prior to the evolution of Anolis (Etheridge, 1960; Williams, 1969). However, recent molecular systematic studies indicate that Chamaeleolis evolved within Anolis (Hass et al., 1993; Jackman et al., 1999), suggesting that the unusual morphology of Chamaeleolis indicates relatively rapid evolution, rather than antiquity of the lineage (and also suggests that the generic name Chamaeleolis might be subsumed within Anolis [Hass et al., 1993; Jackman et al., 1999]). Few published reports exist on the ecology and behavior of Chamaeleolis. Wilson (1957, 1994) commented on the sluggish behavior of a captive C. porcus named Methuselah, noting that it would remain in the same spot for hours or even days without changing position. Gorman et al. (1969) mentioned that captive C. porcus actively moved between perches, jumped toward prey (crickets, grasshoppers, and mealworms), and displayed to each other by extending their dewlaps, opening their mouths and protruding their tongues. Garrido (1982) suggested that the simple courtship display repertoire in C. barbatus, which consists only of head-bobs displays, supported the idea that Chamaeleolis diverged early in the anole radiation. All previous observations on Chamaeleolis have been conducted on captive animals. During the course of field work on the community ecology of Cuban anoles in 1997 and 1999, we had the opportunity to study the behavior and ecology of this lizard under natural conditions. Here we report data on the habitat use, locomotion, display, and foraging behavior of C. barbatus and C. porcus. Observations on C. barbatus were conducted at So-