Stowaway lizards could threaten our skink

A new species of lizard has established itself in Bermuda after hitching a ride from east coast of America.

Conservationists believe the brown anole was brought onto the island in a shipping container within the last few years.

They have now launched a study to determine how widespread it is on Bermuda as well as what effect this new lizard could have on the rare and endemic Bermuda Skink, which is an endangered species.

Conservation Services’ wildlife ecologist, Mark Outerbridge, told the Bermuda Sun that the discovery has sparked plans for an island-wide lizard survey.

He added: “Over the last couple of weeks we have been able to confirm the presence of two populations of the brown anole in Southampton and Paget through night surveys.

“At the moment we have no idea how widespread the brown anole has become and that is what we plan to do next.

“The brown anole has been described as an invasive species in other countries and this could be a potential challenge for our skinks.

“It is probably going to be impossible to get this new lizard out of our environment

“This is another example of how modern transport can move a species from one country to another.

“We understand that the brown anole is native to Cuba and the Bahamas, but it has also become prevalent in Florida, Georgia and Texas.

“So it is likely that these animals have come over to Bermuda on a container ship or via air freight and escaped into the environment.

“From an ecological point of view it is bad news that this invasive species has established itself in Bermuda.

“If we are lucky its impact will be benign and it will just compete with the other anoles we already have on the island.”

The Department of Conservation Services was first made aware that a brown anole had arrived in Bermuda in 2011 when a farmer reported having found the lizard in a shipment he had received from Florida.

There were no more reports of the reptile until May 2012 when a US biology professor, Joe Macedonia, who was visiting the island with a group of students, took a picture of a lizard.

The photo was later posted on a lizard blog and confirmed to be a brown anole by experts.

Then, just earlier this summer, a member of the public contacted Conservation Services to say they had spotted a ‘different looking’ lizard around the Pomander Road area in Paget. The sighting prompted Mr Outerbridge to investigate further, and he was quickly able to establish that a considerable population of the new lizard had established itself and was breeding.

“This is the fourth anole lizard species to establish itself in Bermuda.

“We already have the Jamaican anole which was deliberately brought over to Bermuda in 1905 to control the fruit fly.

“The other two species have been accidental introductions. We believe the panther anole or as it has become known, the Warwick Lizard, and the Somerset Lizard arrived in the 1940’s probably on board ships.”

Mr Outerbridge is now hoping to team up with an American PhD student, James Stroud, in the new year to do a complete survey of the island’s anole population.

He said: “The last island-wide survey was done in 1991 by Dr Jonathan Losos, and his work was an updated version of what David Wingate did in 1965.

“To embark on a project like this would be a large undertaking but it would give us a great, up-to-date insight and understanding of our anole populations.”

Conservation Services is keen to hear from anyone who thinks they have spotted a brown anole. 

The public is encouraged to report any sightings (with attached photos) to the Department of Conservation Services via email at [email protected]