NO. 3505 ANOLIS LINEATOPUS — RAND H 



study area. Apparently even during this period in the dry season, 

 when there was not enough rain to keep the grass green, A. lineatopus 

 were not short of water. 



Temperature.^ — Anolis lineato'pus in the Kingston area has a 

 preferred body temperature (or eccritic temperatui'e) range of 2S°- 

 31° C. Sixty-one of 85 lizard temperatures taken under a variety of 

 environmental temperatures fall within this 4° range. Like many 

 other lizards which have been studied (Bogert, 1959; Fitch, 195Gb; 

 Inger, 1959; Ruibal, 1961), this species maintains its temperature 

 within this range b}^ behavioral thermoregulation when environmental 

 conditions permit. 



I have continued to use the familiar term "preferred body tempera- 

 ture" despite the demonstration of Licht, Dawson, and Shoemaker 

 (1965) that observed field temperatures in some species differ from 

 those chosen in gradient experiments and their suggestion that the 

 term "preferred temperature" be restricted to experimental studies. 



The A. lineatopus temperatures used here were taken over a wide 

 range of air temperatures but always when the sun was shining. 

 On each occasion a thermal gradient was available to A. lineatopus 

 as it was to the lizards in Licht's and his coworkers' experimental set- 

 ups. On most occasions, the environmental temperatures available, 

 considering substrate as well as air temperatures, extended both above 

 and below the observed A. lineatopus range. It seems likely that the 

 observed body temperatures approximate those that would be found 

 in an experimental gradient. Certainly my observations should be 

 more similar to those of an experimental gradient than to the results 

 obtained by measuring all lizards regardless of weather. 



The cloacal temperatures of^l. lineatopus were taken with a Schul- 

 theis quick reading 0°-50° C thermometer within a few seconds of 

 noosing. 



The body temperature of an A. lineatopus is almost always close to 

 and above the air temperature in its vicinity (fig. 1). Body tempera- 

 tures are higher at high air temperatures than at low air temperatures, 

 but the difference between au' and body temperature is greatest at 

 low ah' temperatures as the following figures (in centigrade) show : 



The A. lineatopus temperatures show a slightly greater range 

 (24°-32° C) than do the air temperatures (24°-30° C) but a much more 

 central tendency (variance of air temperatures=6.34; variance of 

 Uzard tempera tures= 3.92). 



