Anolis torresfundorai Torres, Reilly, Nuñez-Penichet, Reynolds & Glor, 2025, sp. nov.
Creators: name: Torres, Javier
name: Reilly, Dexter
name: Nuñez-Penichet, Claudia
name: Reynolds, R. Graham
name: Glor, Richard E.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Chordata
Squamata
Anolidae
Anolis
Anolis torresfundorai

description: Anolis torresfundorai sp. nov.
Figures 1, 2, 6, 7, 8
Common name.
Eastern Cuba Green Anole
Holotype.
KU 55149: Adult male from Baracoa, Guantánamo, Cuba (20.35, – 74.5), collected by T. H. Eaton on 30 May 1953 (Fig. 7).
Paratypes.
Five specimens: KU 55148: adult female from Baracoa, Guantánamo, Cuba (20.35, – 74.5), collected by T. H. Eaton on 30 May 1953. KU 259008: adult male from Guantánamo Bay, Guantánamo, Cuba (19.9396, –75.1860), collected by J. A. Rogers Jr. and P. J. Tolson on 4 April 1969. MCZ 55634: adult male from Banes, Holgu í n, Cuba (20.9625, –75.7186), collected by Cesar Buitrago on 1 October 2004. MCZ 55637: adult male from Banes, Holgu í n, Cuba (20.9625, –75.7186), collected by Cesar Buitrago on 1 October 2004. KU 298517: adult male from Castillo del Morro, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba (no coordinates recorded but we estimated 19.9683, –75.8694 with Google Maps), collected by M. Diaz-Pifferrer on 29 December 1949.
Diagnosis.
Anolis torresfundorai sp. nov. is diagnosable from all species of the A. carolinensis subgroup. Anolis torresfundorai sp. nov. was not unambiguously differentiated from A. porcatus in either of the uni- or multivariate analyses (Tables 1, 2; Figs 2, S 1 – S 12). Ultimately, A. torresfundorai sp. nov. was diagnosable from its cryptic relatives, Cuban A. porcatus and continental A. carolinensis, based on one categorical character, keelation of sublabial scales. These scales are heavily keeled in the former species and smooth in A. torresfundorai sp. nov. with occasional weak keelation that does not go beyond the 4 th scale (Fig. 1). Anolis torresfundorai sp. nov. differs from A. longiceps and A. maynardii in having a pink dewlap, yellow or pale yellow in the others. Anolis allisoni and A. brunneus have blue heads or torsos, green in A. torresfundorai sp. nov. Anolis smaragdinus has a more strongly keeled tail and is usually more homogeneous in coloration, with or without a faint mid-dorsal stripe or scapular spots. Additionally, only three members of the A. carolinensis subgroup occur in Cuba (A. allisoni, A. porcatus, and A. torresfundorai sp. nov.).
Description of holotype.
Adult male, 62.8 mm snout-vent length, 19.7 mm head length, 11.5 head width, 4 postmental scales, 5 postrostral scales, 8 supralabial scales, 6 infralabial scales, 19 loreals, 3 loreal rows, 1 interorbital scale, 4 scales between the interorbital and interparietal scales, 42 lamellae in the 4 th toe, 11 temporals, and smooth jaw scales. The color in preservative is brown overall, with dark reticulations on the neck, and narrow stripes extending from the mental scales to the throat but interrupted around the first third by two clear round markings, dark coloration in the temporal area and even darker in the side of the neck, with isolated dark scales in the first half of the body in lateral view as well as in the lower jaw. A mid-dorsal cleared stripe runs along the body, extending from the back of the head to the base of the tail (Fig. 7).
Variation.
See Table S 3: SVL ranges from 46.8 to 78.0, with a mode of 70.0. Head length ranges from 13.9 to 26.1, with a mode of 22.8. Head width ranges from 8.0 to 14.0, with a mode of 13.5. Postmentals range from 4 to 8, with a mode of 6. Postrostrals range from 4 to 7, with a mode of 5. Supralabials range from 6 to 8, with a mode of 7. Infralabials range from 6 to 8, with a mode of 6 and 7 (both occur equally). Loreals range from 19 to 30, with a mode of 21. Loreal rows range from 3 to 5, with a mode of 3. IP-IO ranges from 2 to 6, with a mode of 4. Lamellae range from 40 to 53, with a mode of 41 and 47 (both occur twice). Temporals range from 10 to 12, with a mode of 11.
Coloration in life.
Anolis torresfundorai sp. nov. has a vibrant green body coloration with a whitish underside. It has a distinct thin median white stripe with paramedian dark and wider stripes running along the length of its back. The pattern is more uniform, with less ornamentation than that of A. porcatus. Males can have a shoulder spot. Its head features a whitish stripe that includes the labial scales and a bluish tone in the eyelids, especially the lower eyelid. As other green anoles it has two color phases, light, where the animals are green, and a dark, where they turn brown (Fig. 8).
Etymology.
The species epithet is a Latinized patronym honoring Emeritus Professor Orlando J. Torres Fundora, for a lifetime dedicated to the study and conservation of Cuban nature and the education of Cuban scientists at the University of Havana, Cuba.
description: Published as part of Torres, Javier, Reilly, Dexter, Nuñez-Penichet, Claudia, Reynolds, R. Graham & Glor, Richard E., 2025, A revision of the Anolis carolinensis subgroup supports three species in Cuba, including a new cryptic species (Squamata: Anolidae), pp. 107-126 in Vertebrate Zoology 75 on pages 107-126, DOI: 10.3897/vz.75.e152054