Anolis polylepis
Silhouette: Sarah Werning · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
Anolis polylepis, the many-scaled anole or Golfo-Dulce anole, is a lizard endemic to the Gulf of Dulce area of Costa Rica. A brown and white speckled lizard with an orange-yellow dewlap, made of erectile cartilage, that extends from their throat. Their toes are covered with structures that allow them to cling to many different surfaces using the van der Waals force. Their tails have the ability to break off at special segments in order to escape predators or fights. The tail itself continues to wriggle strongly for some minutes after detaching. This ability is known as autotomy. The anoles are also diurnal, which means that they are active during the daytime.
They are athletic creatures that run fast, and jump many times their length. They can also climb straight up almost any surface at blinding speed. They usually sit downward. Seeing a potential prey they dart down towards it. They display their dewlap and bob their head to attract sexual partners and to mark their territory.
They feed on spiders and insects like cockroaches and mosquitoes. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Piedras Blancas National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 2 | Manuel Antonio National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 3 | Chirripó National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 4 | Carara National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 5 | Marino Ballena National Park | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | La Amistad International Park (Panama) | 🇵🇦 Panama |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Many-scaled Anole sighting in Chirripó National Park on a given day, based on 28 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 2nd most-seen of the 17 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
January, June and November
In those months about 40% of wildlife watchers report a Many-scaled Anole in Chirripó National Park on a given day, against under 5% in August and September, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Many-scaled Anole sightings with a recorded time, and about 7 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is seen both by day and at night.
3rd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Many-scaled Anole sightings, Chirripó National Park ranks 3rd at about 30%. The best odds are in Piedras Blancas National Park (Costa Rica, about 70%) and Manuel Antonio National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same genus: Anolis
The closest relatives of the Many-scaled Anole that you can see in Chirripó National Park (genus Anolis, Anoles) are Humble Anole (about 20%), Slender Anole (about 20%) and Bighead Anole (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Many-scaled Anole is recorded against all the reptiles logged in Chirripó National Park (28 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
