Communal Nesting in the Anoline Lizard Norops lionotus (Polychrotidae) in Central Panama

Abstract We examined nesting in Norops lionotus to describe nesting sites and to determine if nesting aggregations were by multiple females or repeated deposition of eggs by the same female. We also described eggs during incubation and the subsequent hatchlings. We collected eggs from nests along streams at Omar Torrijos National Park in central Panama and incubated them until they hatched. We located seven nests (six active, one inactive) containing 47 eggshells (2 depredated; 45 hatched) and 67 unhatched eggs. All nests were on the downstream side of large boulders covered by moss and herbaceous vegetation. Estimated minimum number of females using each nest was one to five, depending on assumptions of the estimate. Estimates indicated that nesting aggregations were a combination of multiple females nesting communally and repeated deposition of eggs by the same female. Hatchlings averaged 2.66 cm in snout–vent length, 4.60 cm in length of tail, and 0.42 g in mass, with no significant difference between ...