This lizard is a true mountain dweller, living only in the rocky hills of the Sierra de la Ventana in Argentina’s southern Pampas. Unlike sleek, smooth-skinned lizards, the Casuhatien anole has a robust, blocky body and sturdy limbs designed for life among crevices, stones, and windswept terrain. It’s medium-sized, diurnal, and secretive, blending into its rocky home with earthy colors that shift from greenish tones in males to browner shades in females. These colors also intensify when the lizard warms up in the sun—nature’s own color-changing camouflage.

What makes this species particularly intriguing is its courtship behavior, which we now know thanks to recent observations. During spring afternoons, males actively seek out females on sunny rock faces above 600 meters. They perform head bobs, push-ups, and rapid tongue flicks to get attention. Courtship may lead to a gripping and a multi-phase copulation lasting about 17 minutes on average—including immobilization, mating, and separation. These events happen in plain view on bare stone—hardly hidden—making the already rare lizard surprisingly exposed during its most vulnerable moment. This is the first time such behavior has been documented for this species—and really, for the entire genus.

The Casuhatien anole is critically endangered, an endemic species with a tiny range limited to a handful of hills. It doesn’t tolerate habitat changes well because it depends on the rocky outcrops, seasonal warmth, and grassy patches of its hilltop home. When the ground chills or dries, it may even hibernate under stones during winter. Unlike more widespread lizards that adapt easily, this species survives in a fragile patchwork of habitat, making any disturbance, including tourism or land conversion, a major threat. Additionally, climate change has recently been identified as a new threat to the species, with the potential to impact both the extent of its suitable habitat and several of its known populations in the near future.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

Argentina

CR

2025

Buenos Aires