# Cave anole (*Anolis lucius*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/cave-anole  
Data as of: 2026-11-14

The cave anole (Anolis lucius) is a species in the family Anolidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh 2.89 g to 3.84 g and reach 5.2 cm in length. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Cuba.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 2.89 g – 3.84 g |
| Length | 5.2 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Egg incubation | 60 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 |
| Age at maturity | 7 months – 8 months |
| Litters or clutches a year | 2 – 6 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | 1 country |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Anolidae
- genus: Anolis
- species: *Anolis lucius* Duméril & Bibron, 1837

Synonyms: *Anolis mertensi*

## Countries on record

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

Cuba

## Common questions

### How big is the cave anole?

An adult cave anole weighs 2.89 g – 3.84 g and measures 5.2 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Where does the cave anole live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the cave anole for 1 country: Cuba. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

### What kind of animal is the cave anole?

The cave anole (Anolis lucius) belongs to the family Anolidae in the order Squamata.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b

Cite as: Cave anole (Anolis lucius). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/cave-anole