Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I just saw a lizard for the first time in North Carolina - crawling across my 3rd floor home office window. Small (5-7 inches), dark green in color.
I assume these are fairly common in the wild here (coming out now that it's spring), or is it likely someone's escaped pet crawling on my window? Unfortunately he got away before I could take a picture.
That is the highly toxic green tar heel lizard. If it bites you stop using turning signals and like sweet tea all the time. It is really a green anole and yes they are here in the wild. you will also see blue tailed skinks and horney toads on occasion. totally harmless but great to control the spiders and other insects. These cridders are your friends. alond with the black snakes garter snakes ect.
I guess I am so used to seeing anoles having grown up in the subtropics of southern FL that I don't even notice them anymore. I can't say I remember seeing one in the two years that I have lived here, but I really love those little guys, since they keep the biting and other annoying flying bugs at bay. Not to mention they are pretty cute and are fun for kids to play with, too. There is a nice photo of one in today's City & State section of the N&O (unfortunately, it's not in color).
If you ever find one in your house or otherwise indoors, be sure to try to catch it and put it back outside, because they don't survive very long indoors without a food source.
My lab is involved in the genome sequencing of this animal, Anolis Carolensis. Males have a red throat and the females are usually smaller than the males.
It's pretty neat to see the males display their throats.
Also, they have a tendency to lose their tales if they feel threated, or if you accidentally try to pick them up by the tail. The detached tail will flail around long after the lizard has gone. Nature's defense mechanisms at work. They can also make some pretty funky living earrings, something my friend's dad would do quite often when we were kids.
I have seen several blue tailed skinks since I've been here. They are very cool looking with their irridescent blue tails.
I love the little things, too. There was a discussion here not too long ago about white things turning up in the mulch around people's homes. They will lay their eggs next to the warm brick foundations of a home, buried just beneath the surface of the mulch, so be careful if you are raking in the beds.
I uncovered one many, many years ago, as a child, and out of curiosity, wanted to know what it was (never mind curiosity has been known to kill a cat!) I opened the small, rubbery case, about the size of a pencil eraser, and the tiniest little anole was left in my palm. I felt better when it moved, and I decided I hadn't killed the little thing.
I grew up just loving the little things, and even still, enjoy catching sight of them, and watching them.
OhNoMongo, may I come to your lab?
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