Data from: Discovery of a giant chameleon-like lizard (Anolis) on Hispaniola and its significance to understanding replicated adaptive radiations

We report a new chameleon-like Anolis species from Hispaniola that is ecomorphologically similar to congeners found only on Cuba. Lizards from both clades possess short limbs and a short tail and utilize relatively narrow perches, leading us to recognize a novel example of ecomorphological matching among islands in the well-known Greater Antillean anole radiation. This discovery supports the hypothesis that the assembly of island faunas can be substantially deterministic, and highlights the continued potential for basic discovery to reveal new insights in well-studied groups. Restricted to a threatened band of mid-elevation transitional forest near the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti, this new species appears to be highly endangered.

我们报道了一种产自伊斯帕尼奥拉岛的避役状安乐蜥属（Anolis）新物种。该物种的生态形态学（ecomorphological）特征与仅分布于古巴的同属物种高度相似。两个演化支（clade）的蜥蜴均具有短肢与短尾，且偏好利用相对狭窄的栖木栖息，这使得我们在广为人知的大安列斯群岛安乐蜥辐射演化（Greater Antillean anole radiation）类群中，发现了一例全新的岛屿间生态形态匹配案例。本发现支持了"岛屿动物区系的组装过程在很大程度上具有确定性"的假说，同时凸显了基础分类学发现仍可在研究较为充分的生物类群中揭示新认知的潜力。该新物种的分布范围局限于多米尼加共和国与海地边境附近的中海拔过渡林带状受威胁生境，目前似乎已处于极度濒危状态。