Parallel Adaptive Radiations - Caribbean Anoline Lizards
Caribbean anoline lizards are a particularly interesting example of an adaptive radiation. These lizards provide not one, but four separate instances of adaptive radiation, because anoles have diversified largely independently on each island of the Greater Antilles (Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico). Multiple independent radiations within a clade are not uncommon; what is notable about Caribbean anoles is that these independent evolutionary theaters have produced extraordinarily similar radiations.
Select an ecomorph type to see examples from different islands: