Genny Wilson, a certified medical illustrator (check out her work here), has tried to imagine what Anolis roosevelti, not seen for 80 years, might have looked like in life. This is her latest version. Have any thoughts or suggestions? Add a comment, or email her directly at hagginwilson@earthlink.net.
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It’s exciting to think about what an extinct species looked like in life. Aren’t there any photos of live A. roosevelti? There are a few things that could make this illustration considerably more lifelike: (1) the position of the left hand is unnatural and almost looks like it would need to be detached from the arm to be where it is; a much more natural position would be for this hand to simply be on the other side of the perch, (2) all the scales are similar in size in this drawing, but most anoles have considerable variation in scale size across their body, (3) some of the proportions seem a bit off (e.g., the tail seems too small and pointy relative to the body, the toes on the hind-limb too short, etc.). If this is part of a series, I’ll look forward to seeing the next version.
A photograph of a preserved specimen is available at http://eolspecies.lifedesks.org/node/1798, although lacking color, it should help with proportions.
Somebody really put some effort into laying that specimen out!
As Rich already mentioned, there are some parts of the body that look out of proportion, specially the tail. In the description of the similar species A. cuvieri (according to Schwartz & Henderson’s 1991’s book) is mentioned that the tail is strongly compressed (and indeed with a high crest), but in this illustration looks besides slim, short. In some cases artists tend to represent some poses that usually change (and play with) perspective… That is also noticed in the anole’s head (is angled, the snout seems to be pointing towards the anole’s left side a little bit, at least that is the impression). In general, a nice drawing/painting, but may not be a completely accurate scientific illustration (which should be more objective).