Anolis auratus

Anolis auratus is mainly found in Panama but can be found across Northern South America in open, grassy areas such as fields. They tend to avoid shaded areas. [3]

Males almost exclusively use their territories for access to mates rather than access to food since competition for food is low within the species. Males use displays to assert dominance over others males and attract females.[4] These displays consist of moving their head and dewlap up and down in a sinusoidal fashion.[4] Territorial males will approach another lizard to perform their display and the sex and response of the conspecific determines the result of the challenge. If the conspecific is female or a juvenile, they are tolerated within the male’s territory. If the conspecific is another adult male, they are tolerated if they give a head nod, but are chased away or engaged in agonistic behavior if do not give a head nod or give a challenge display. If the adult male conspecific loses the challenge, he can stay within the territory as a subordinate.[3]

Since A. auratus’ habitat has abundant vegetation, the effectiveness of head displays may be affected by the moving vegetation, especially in the wind. Displays can also be affected by the vantage point of females, which are usually low in the grass and become habituated to movement patterns in the moving vegetation. Therefore, displays are most successful when using a sinusoidal movement pattern when there is no wind, but even with wind their displays are able to generally avoid reduction in effectiveness from habituation.[4]