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.

我们报道了一种采自伊斯帕尼奥拉岛（Hispaniola）的类变色龙新安乐蜥属（Anolis）物种。该物种在生态形态学特征上与仅分布于古巴的同属近缘类群高度相似。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，这使我们在广为人知的大安的列斯群岛安乐蜥辐射演化（Greater Antillean anole radiation）研究中，识别出一例全新的岛屿间生态形态匹配案例。本发现支持“岛屿动物区系的群落构建可具有高度确定性”这一假说，同时也凸显出：在已被充分研究的生物类群中，基础分类学探索仍具备揭示全新科学认知的潜力。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生境，目前已处于高度濒危状态。