page_title: Dactyloidae
section_title: Feeding
hierarchical_section_title: Dactyloidae / Appearance and behavior / Feeding
caption_attribution_description: Male Dominican Anole (Anolis oculatus) licking a flower. South Caribbean ecotype (A. o. oculatus). Dominica Botanical Gardens, Roseau, Dominica.
context_page_description: Dactyloidae are a family of lizards commonly known as anoles and native to warmer parts of the Americas, ranging from southeastern United States to Paraguay. Instead of treating it as a family, some authorities prefer to treat it as a subfamily, Dactyloinae, of the family Iguanidae. In the past they were included in the family Polychrotidae together with Polychrus, but the latter genus is not closely related to the true anoles.
  Anoles are small to fairly large lizards, typically green or brownish, but their color varies depending on species and many can also change it. In most species at least the male has a dewlap, an often brightly colored flap of skin that extends from the throat/neck and is used in displays. Anoles share several characteristics with geckos, including details of the foot structure and the ability to voluntarily break off the tail, but they are only very distantly related, anoles being part of Iguania.
  Anoles are active during the day and feed mostly on small animals such as insects, but some will also take fruits, flowers, and nectar. They are fiercely territorial. After mating, the female lays an egg; in many species she may do so every few days or weeks.
context_section_description: Anoles are opportunistic feeders, and may attempt to eat any attractive meal that is of the right size. They primarily feed on insects like flies, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars, moths, butterflies, beetles and ants, and arachnids like spiders. Several species will also eat small vertebrates such as mice, small birds (including nestlings), lizards (including other anole species and cannibalism of their own) and frogs. The slow-moving Cuban false chameleon anoles ("Chamaeleolis") are specialized snail-eaters, and a few semi-aquatic species like the Cuban stream anole may catch prey in water such as shrimp and fish. In some species the average prey-size varies with the individual anole's size, age and sex, with juvenile anoles eating the smallest prey, adult females taking intermediate-sized prey and adult males the largest prey. In other species there are no clear differences in the preferred prey size, regardless of an individual's size and sex.
  Hunting is done by sight, and they generally show a strong preference for moving prey over non-moving. Many will chase down or sneak up to a potential prey item, while others are sit-and-wait predators that pounce on prey when it gets close to the anole. Anoles have numerous small, sharp and pointed teeth that allow them to efficiently grab their prey. They are heterodonts with each tooth in the frontal half of the jaw having a single tip (unicuspid) and each in the rear half having three tips (tricuspid); one in the middle and a smaller behind and in front of it. Unusually, the Cuban false chameleon anoles have enlarged and blunt, molar-like teeth in the rear part of their jaw, allowing them to crush the shells of their snail prey.
  In addition to animal prey, many anole species will take plant material, notably fruits, flowers and nectar, and overall they are best described as omnivorous. Some fruit-eating species, like the knight anole, may function as seed dispersers. Anoles have been recorded drinking sweetened water from hummingbird feeders. Anoles are vulnerable to drying out and generally need access to water for drinking, like dew or rain on leaves, although some species are less susceptible to water loss than others and are able to live in relatively arid places.
caption: Dominican anole feeding on nectar
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