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Green anole

Anolis carolinensis · Lizards · Reptiles

Green anole (Anolis carolinensis): Slender lizard 4-8 cm (body) with a tail over half the total length; 2-6 g. Colour changes between green, brown and grey with temperature and excitement; dark brown or black typically signals cold or stress. This profile does not establish whether taking it is legal anywhere.

Check rules for a place and date

Certified rules currently represented in Hunt: coverage in development. This is coverage, not a legal answer.

Green anole on a metal rail
Photo by Gary Yost on Unsplash
Scientific name
Anolis carolinensis
Family
Polychrotidae
In North America
Native
Range
NatureServe lists it in the southeastern US (North Carolina to Florida, west to Oklahoma and Texas, north to Tennessee and Arkansas); Hawaii is listed as introduced.
Biology

How to identify it

Slender lizard 4-8 cm (body) with a tail over half the total length; 2-6 g. [1][2]

Colour changes between green, brown and grey with temperature and excitement; dark brown or black typically signals cold or stress. [1][2]

Males usually have a pinkish dewlap under the throat that is extended in displays, rarely seen in females; females often have a pale dorsal line from neck to tail base. [1][2]

Field knowledge

Where it lives

Wide range of edge habitats: upland forest, pine-palmetto scrub, rocky escarpments, swamps, wooded parks, fields, maritime scrub and residential lots. [1][2]

Field knowledge

How it behaves

Diurnal, sitting on a perch and watching for prey; usually stays within a small territory (about 50-100 m2) and bobs its head in displays. [1][2]

Eats insects, spiders and other small arthropods; does not hibernate and can be active on sunny winter days. [1][2]

Mostly arboreal; climbs trunks, shrubs, fence posts and building walls and sleeps in vegetation at night. [1][2]

Regulatory handoff

Limited legal take

Legal take of this species exists only under narrow conditions — a quota, a draw, a permit, a small area, or animals released or held on private land — set by the authorities below. Nowhere else is a legal opportunity implied, and Hunt shows one only where a certified rule establishes it.

Where legal take is listed

Being listed is not an open season. Seasons, zones, licences, methods and limits decide whether this animal may be taken on a given day and place — check Hunt or the authority before you go. Listings read 2026-09-30.

Geospatial intelligence

Where it is found

NatureServe lists it in the southeastern US (North Carolina to Florida, west to Oklahoma and Texas, north to Tennessee and Arkansas); Hawaii is listed as introduced.

Biology

Sources

Every claim above is attributed to one of these published sources.

  1. NatureServe · reviewed 2026-09-30

    NatureServe

  2. Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology · reviewed 2026-09-30

    Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology