Our opening image comes from 2004, in Florida, the territorial display of the brown anole (Anolis sagrei.) That big sail under its chin, called a dewlap, is only displayed when a male anole is marking its territory, typically when another is nearby, though I’m unsure if there can also be a sexual element to it. What I’m drawing attention to here, however, is
Tag: threat display
Storytime 28
This week, we have a little curiosity: an eastern garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis) providing a threat display of flattened head and inflated body, attempting to look big and dangerous. First off, very few snakes ever engage in such displays – everybody knows cobras, of course, but they have a much more distinctive shape when displaying