Anolis sagrei Duméril & Bibron, 1837

Figueroa, Alex, Low, Martyn E. Y. & Lim, Kelvin K. P., 2023, Singapore’s herpetofauna: updated and annotated checklist, history, conservation, and distribution, Zootaxa 5287 (1), pp. 1-378 : 96-97

Anolis sagrei Duméril & Bibron, 1837 — Non-native; Established.

Agama Sagrei Duméril & Bibron, 1837: 149–152 . Syntypes (7): MNHN 2430, 2430A, 2430B, 6795, 6795A 6797, 6797A, by original designation (see Brygoo [1989: 90]); MCZ 2172 also considered a syntype (see McCranie & Ģnther [2015: 166]) based on Underwood & Stuart (1959: 17) who noted “? Cotype M.C.Z. 2172, received from the Jardin des Plantes” (see Brygoo [1989: 90]). Type locality: “habite l’île de Cuba ” (= Cuba), restricted to “the city of La Habana, Habana ” (= Havana, La Habana Province, Cuba) by Ruibal (1964: 490).

Brown Anole

( Figure 11D )

Singapore records.

Norops sagrei —H.H. Tan & K.K.P. Lim, 2012: 359–362 (Gardens by the Bay).—K.W.C. Leong & K.K.P. Lim, 2015: 123, 124 (Marina Bay South Gardens).—Woo & Wee, 2015: 61 (Clover Rise [Bishan]).—H.H. Tan & Zhou, 2016: 171–172 (Gardens by the Bay).—C.L.Y. Tan et al., 2017: 48 ( Singapore Botanic Gardens).—A. Tay, 2019c: 82 (Thomson Road).—H. Cai & Z. Wu, 2020: 147 (Jurong Lake Gardens).—A. Tay & J. Lim, 2021: 1 (Bah Soon Pah Road; Thomson Road; Toa Payoh Central).— E.K. Chua, 2022: 88 (Satay by the Bay [= Gardens by the Bay).

Anolis sagrei —E. S. C. Goh & R.W.X Seah. 2020: 190 (Kovan area, Tampines Road [compound of Horizon Floral & Design Pte Ltd]).—J. Chua, 2021: 1 (Marina Bay).—N.T.-L. Lim, 2022: 1 (Keat Hong Close).—A. Tay, 2022: 1 (Seletar West Farmway 7).

Remarks. Anolis sagrei is a recently introduced and established species being first brought in as stowaways with ornamental plants at Gardens by the Bay in 2012 (Tan & Lim 2012). Native to the Bahamas, Swan Island, and Cuba (Nicholson et al. 2012), A. sagrei has been introduced to at least nine countries ( Global Invasive Species Database 2019a).At the time of discovery, numerous adult and hatchling individuals were recorded, and courtship behaviour was observed (Tan & Lim 2012). Since the ornamental plants were in place by October 2011, A. sagrei was likely already reproducing and increasing in numbers, especially since it has a short breeding cycle capable of causing a marked surge in population size (Norval et al. 2012). Report of a single individual in Bishan, a locality 15 km north of Gardens by the Bay on 9 March 2015 (Woo & Wee 2015), SBG on 14 April 2017 (Tan et al. 2017), Hort Park in July 2017 (ZRC.2.7280), Toa Payoh on 3 June 2021 (Tay & Lim 2021), and Choa Chu Kang on 30 April 2022 ( Lim 2022) suggests that A. sagrei may be expanding its range throughout Singapore; however, only a single individual was observed at each location. Furthermore, individuals photographed at plant nurseries along Thomson Road on 23 May 2019 and 5 March 2021 (Tay 2019c; Tay & Lim 2021), Bah Soon Pah Road on 6 February 2021 (Tay & Lim 2021), and Seletar West Farmway 7 on 12 December 2022 (Tay 2022) hint that more stowaways are being introduced. This indeed may be the case as an established population has now been detected at JLG ( Cai & Wu 2020), which underwent renovation in 2018 and 2019 that included wide-scale planting, and one individual was photographed at a nursery in Kovan on 28 October 2020 ( Goh & Seah 2020). In other parts of the world where A. sagrei was introduced, it is considered an invasive species because it outcompetes competitors and greatly decimates arthropod populations ( Huang 2008; Meshaka 2011). At first it was believed that A. sagrei’s impact on native species would be minimal as it was restricted to Gardens by the Bay, which is built on reclaimed land. However, if A. sagrei is indeed expanding its range throughout Singapore, then it may soon begin competing with native species.

Occurrence. Established populations are restricted to Gardens by the Bay, Marina Bay South, and Jurong Lake Gardens, with a few isolated records from elsewhere. Common.

Singapore conservation status. Not Applicable.

Conservation priority. None, non-native species.

IUCN conservation status. Least Concern [2020].

LKCNHM & NHMUK Museum specimens. Hort Park: ZRC.2.7280 (Jul-2017) ; Marina Bay South Gardens : ZRC.2.6988 (18-Oct-2012) , ZRC.2.7024 (31-May-2013) .

Additional Singapore museum specimens. Singapore (no locality): No specimens.

Singapore localities. Bishan—Bah Soon Pah Road—Gardens by the Bay—Hort Park—Keat Hong Close— Kovan—Jurong Lake Gardens—Marina Bay South—Seletar West Farmway 7—Singapore Botanic Gardens—Thomson Road—Toa Payoh.

Figures

FIGURE 11. A) Draco melanopogon, B) Draco quinquefasciatus, C) Draco sumatranus, D) Anolis sagrei, E) Aeluroscalabotes felinus, F) Aeluroscalabotes felinus, G) Cnemaspis peninsularis, and H) Cyrtodactylus consobrinus. Photographs by: Jensen G.H. Seah [A–B], Kelvin K.P. Lim [C, E], Thio Hui Bing [D], Mary-Ruth Low [F], and Alex Figueroa [G–H].