First Record of an Established Population of Introduced Anolis carolinensis (Voigt) (Green Anole) in Norfolk (Independent City), Virginia, with an Updated Statewide Distribution Map of the Species

Abstract

Anolis carolinensis (Green Anole) is distributed throughout the southeastern US. Along the east coast, the northernmost natural range of the Green Anole extends to barrier islands of the Outer Banks within Dare County, NC. Populations of the Green Anole have also expanded north along the Outer Banks into the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge (Currituck County, NC) near the North Carolina–Virginia border, although it´s unclear whether this expansion is natural, or human influenced. Recently, an established population of introduced Green Anoles was documented in the City of Virginia Beach (independent city), VA, ∼40 km north of the Currituck National Wildlife Refuge. Here, we document another established population of Green Anoles in the City of Norfolk, VA, ∼ 20 km west of the City of Virginia Beach population. Future documentation of Green Anole populations in Virginia is critical to differentiating between natural range expansion and extended distribution through human introductions.