An Odd Interaction in Sitana and Anolis
When videotaping Sitana last year, I noticed an odd interaction between a male and female, wherein the female suddenly ran towards the male, and after he displayed a little bit at her, she sat on him. She remained there for a couple of minutes, and then ran away.
Anolis cristatellus female sitting on male (photo by Kristin Winchell)
I had no idea what was happening–there were at least two more females in the vicinity, and I wondered if this sitting behaviour was an instance of female competition over the male. But I didn’t see the behaviour again, and thought no more of it until Kristin Winchell mentioned that she had seen similar behaviour in her captive Anolis cristatellus, being housed in male-female pairs for a common garden experiment. Moreover, she has noticed the same pairs repeatedly engaging in such interactions. Any thoughts on what might be going on?
Anolis cristatellus female sitting on male (photo by Kristin Winchell)
Source: http://www.anoleannals.org/2013/12/06/an-odd-interaction-in-sitana-and-anolis/
