Wildlife experts in Central Florida say an invasive lizard once mostly associated with South Florida is now appearing much farther north, a shift that could add pressure to native species.<\/p>\n
As Fox Weather reports<\/a>, that species is the Northern curly-tailed lizard, an invasive reptile often seen around sidewalks and parking lots as it continues moving up the peninsula.<\/p>\n What’s happening?<\/p>\n Originally from the Bahamas, the Northern curly-tailed lizard<\/a> (Leiocephalus carinatus) has been in South Florida since the 1930s, Fox Weather said.<\/p>\n Researchers say the species is now making its way upward.\u00a0<\/p>\n “They’re becoming fairly common throughout most of Central Florida now as they are starting to move up the peninsula,”\u00a0 Dr. Matthew Atkinson, a herpetologist at the University of Central Florida, told FOX 35<\/a>, an affiliate. “They’re probably here to stay.”<\/p>\n The outlet noted people are most likely to spot the lizards in rocky or concrete-heavy places, including sidewalks and parking lots. They can reach about a foot long and may shed their tails to escape predators, Fox Weather said.<\/p>\n Officials do not consider the lizards dangerous to humans, but they are paying closer attention to what a larger range could mean for native wildlife, as the outlet detailed.<\/p>\n Why does it matter?<\/p>\n The primary issue is ecological strain rather than any direct risk to people. Fox Weather reported that Northern curly-tailed lizards eat smaller animals, including native lizards and eggs, and they compete with native anoles for habitat.<\/p>\n One native species affected is the Carolina green anole, per the outlet. When invasive species spread, they can disrupt established food webs and outcompete native species.<\/p>\n Fox Weather noted that while the Carolina green anole<\/a> can evade the Northern curly-tailed lizards in the trees, the lizards lay their eggs on the ground, making them vulnerable to them.<\/p>\n Atkinson told FOX 35 the lizards also sometimes hunt other invasive reptiles.<\/p>\n “We see a little bit of invasive-on-invasive violence, if you will, where they are actually going to be a predator for the brown anoles, which are also invasive and rapidly spreading throughout the state,” he revealed to the station.<\/p>\n What’s being done?<\/p>\n Wildlife officials want residents to report sightings so researchers can better track where the species is showing up and how quickly it is spreading, Fox Weather said<\/a>. Those reports can also help scientists determine whether populations are becoming established in new places.<\/p>\n Because the lizards are not considered a threat to people, residents are encouraged to avoid disturbing them and to follow state or local reporting guidance rather than handling the animals themselves.<\/p>\n More broadly, monitoring invasive species is part of an effort to protect native ecosystems before ecological imbalances worsen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Get TCD’s free newsletters<\/a> for easy tips, smart advice, and a chance to earn $5,000 toward home upgrades. To see more stories like this one, change your Google preferences here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Wildlife experts in Central Florida say an invasive lizard once mostly associated with South Florida is now appearing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":337275,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[147,28,30,29,79603,4615,29046,136237,130782,807,2103],"class_list":["post-337274","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-central-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-fox-weather","tag-invasive-species","tag-lizard","tag-matthew-atkinson","tag-native-species","tag-south-florida","tag-university-of-central-florida"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=337274"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/337274\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/337275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=337274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=337274"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=337274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}