EXAMINATION OF FACTORS POTENTIALLY AFFECTING DEWLAP SIZE IN CARIBBEANANOLES

The dewlaps of anoles vary greatly in size, including some species tha t have no dewlap at all, The dewlap serves many-purposes-including cou rtship, territorial interactions, species recognition, and predator de terrence-and must be an effective communicatory signal in different li ght environments. We measured dewlap size in 52 species of Caribbean a noles to test a variety; of hypotheses concerning the evolution of dew lap size, Species with conspicuous body coloration or patterning tend to have relatively smaller dewlaps than do other species, In addition, the data suggest the possibility that species in poorly lit habitats may have relatively larger dewlaps than species in brighter habitats. By contrast, no relationship exists between relative dewlap size and s tructural habitat, display rate, or sexual size dimorphism, Further, c omparisons of the dewlaps of sympatric species do not support the hypo thesis that differences in dewlap size aid in species recognition.