#pinocchio lizard

By John Sullivan, CC-BY-NC

The first picture is of a male, the second has a female on the left, and a male on the right.

The Pinocchio lizard, horned anole, or Pinocchio anole (Anolis proboscis) was discovered in Ecuador in 1953

“The Pinocchio lizard is a zoological mystery.” This strange lizard endemic to the cloud forests of Ecuador was thought to be extinct until only a few years ago. Almost never seen, they are never observed in daylight. Many theories about its extended “horn” have emerged, including for battle, which was ultimately disproven because of their flexibility. In some new research, there is evidence that it may be used as an indicator for a suitable mate – as females seem to prefer those with a longer horn. There is some thinking however, that this might not be the whole story and even more interestingly, this lizard seems to be able to “wiggle” its horn using hydrostatic pressure. They are endangered along with a great many other species in Ecuador, although luckily people like Lucas Bustamante are capturing images of these magical animals and sharing them to inform the publci of the importance of the species.

Field Herp Forum - See a couple of great photos of Anolis proboscis, aka Pinocchio lizard, a creature once thought extinct but recently rediscovered in a remote region of Ecuador.

This long-nosed Pinocchio lizard was spotted by an eco-tourism group who have been combing a remote area in the north west of Ecuador for three years. The lizard, first discovered in 1953 and named after the fictional lying puppet, was thought to be extinct until 2005 and has only been spotted three times since. The curious-looking animal did a disappearing act in the 1960s and was not seen again until an ornithologist saw one crossing the road in the same stretch of cloud forest. The animal was most recently captured by Alejandro Arteaga, a co-founder of eco-tourism company Tropical Herping, which has been searching for the almost long-lost animal. Picture: WWW.TROPICALHERPING.COM/Caters (via Pictures of the day: 9 October 2013 - Telegraph)