NO. 3596 ANOLIS LINEATOPUS — RAND 51 



tree where he usually was seen] and ran towards another tree nearby. No. 17 

 (44 mm female) who was on the ground in his path jumped to the tree [where 

 she usually was seen]. No. 26 changed direction and chased No. 17 around and 

 up the tree. No. 17 fled and No. 26 came back down the tree to sit on No. 17's 

 favorite perch. 



Some of the fiercest fighting that I saw occurred between a resident 

 and an intruder that did not retreat when attaclved. 



(8) 29-30 August — Mona. A large male lineatopus, No. 31, was marked on 

 26 August on a large tree. He measured 67 mm. in snout-vent length. He was 

 next seen on 29 August on a tree about 15 yards away lighting with an unmarked, 

 probably resident, male. Tlie fight included some jaw locking and No. 31 ap- 

 parently won. 



The following day No. 31 and probably the same unmarked male were fighting 

 on the same tree. "This is serious fighting: no display, just biting." First 

 seen on tlie tree trunk, they soon locked jaws and fell to the ground where they 

 remained for a couple of minutes fencing and biting at each other, not only at 

 jaws but at necks also. Both climbed back onto the tree trunk and the fighting 

 continued, the lizards standing head to head and lunging sideways. They locked 

 jaws and fell again, the unmarked male catching a small plant with his hind legs 

 and letting No. 31 swing past to crash against the trunk with an audible thud, 

 then hang suspended from his jaws. They hung so for better than a minute and 

 then separated. The unmarked lizard ran up the tree and No. 31 up the one 

 next to it. They worked their way up the trees in installments, each male on 

 his move getting higher than the opponent on the adjacent tree. At each stop 

 they displayed, dewlapping and bobbing, until finally they worked their way 

 up into the crown and out of sight. 



On September 1 and 2 No. 31 was seen back on the tree where he was first 

 marked. 



These accounts of disputes or aggTessive encounters between sunilar 

 sized individuals have illustrated the forms these encounters usually 

 take and the conditions under which they usually occur. It should be 

 stressed further that some sort of dispute occurs on ahnost every 

 occasion when two similar sized A. lineatojms meet. They may not 

 fight when both individuals are outside of their activity ranges or 

 both are frightened. It is sometimes possible for a Hzard to remain 

 within the activity range of another of the same size for some time 

 but only if the intruder remains out of sight of the resident. This is 

 possible only in areas where the habitat is structurally complex with 

 many hiding places. Even under these conditions I beheve the 

 situation is only temporary. 



At the other extreme from these aggressive encounters between 

 similar sized A. lineatopus are the relationships between individuals 

 of very different sizes. These ntay have widely overlapping activity 

 ranges and show very little, if any, aggressive behavior toward one 

 another. 



This is particularly true if one individual is an adult male and the 

 other a female. In this case, the male chases the female in courtship. 



