9 Types of Lizards in the Florida Keys and How to Identify Them
September 15, 2026
Step onto almost any dock, seawall, or garden path in the Florida Keys and a lizard is probably watching from a few feet away. Some of these reptiles have lived on the islands for thousands of years, while others arrived in cargo crates within the last century and never left. Sorting out the types of lizards in the Florida Keys means learning to spot a handful of native holdouts among a much larger crowd of Caribbean and Central American transplants.
The Florida Keys sit at a biological crossroads, where a subtropical climate and a steady stream of maritime traffic have combined to create one of the most lizard-dense chains of islands in North America. For a broader look at the mainland’s reptile diversity, the types of lizards in Florida found across the peninsula share several species with the Keys, though island life has produced a few residents found almost nowhere else. Below are nine species worth knowing, along with the traits that separate the natives from the newcomers.
Pro Tip: Look at the dewlap (throat fan) and tail shape first. Anole species are usually told apart by dewlap color, while geckos and skinks are easier to identify by tail pattern and body texture.
1. Green Anole
The green anole, scientifically known as Anolis carolinensis, has a strong claim to being the true native lizard of the Keys. Florida’s Nature notes that the Carolina Anole is the only anole species native to the United States, which makes every sighting in the Keys a small win for local wildlife watchers. Herpers who have surveyed Monroe County report just how rare that sighting has become; one field trip through the Keys turned up only three native lizard species the entire trip, and the green anole was one of them.
Green anoles can shift their skin color between bright green and dull brown depending on temperature, mood, and stress level, which helps them blend into both leafy canopy and dry bark. They favor shrubs, trees, and building walls, where they hunt small insects during the day. Competition from the far more numerous brown anole has pushed many green anoles higher into the tree canopy than they once occupied.
2. Brown Anole
If there is one lizard tourists notice within minutes of arriving in the Keys, it is the brown anole, Anolis sagrei. Originally from Cuba and the Bahamas, this small reptile is a Brown Anole Lizard… found throughout the state of Florida, including the Florida Keys. According to Outforia, the Brown Anole was first introduced to Florida in the late 1800s when cargo ships from the Caribbean were first brought to the Florida Keys, and since then their population has blossomed.
Physically, brown anoles tend to have a stockier build than green anoles, with a corpulent build and a deflated tail, and skin that is often light brown with a selection of yellow spots. Their dewlap is the giveaway feature: a thin and loose piece of skin that hangs from their throat, bright red with orange tones, creating a sharp contrast from its dark skin. Travelers exploring the islands have described finding these lizards scurrying about the paths we walked on, in gardens, and climbing up the trunks of palm trees.
Brown anoles are not confined to the Keys; the species has spread across much of the Gulf Coast, and readers comparing regional populations can check the types of lizards in Texas for another look at how far this Cuban transplant has traveled. Some longtime Keys residents believe the pressure brown anoles place on native anoles will only grow as other invasive species establish themselves nearby.
3. Knight Anole
The knight anole, Anolis equestris, is the giant of Florida’s anole family. Outforia reports that these anole species are the biggest in Florida, ranging from 13 to 19.5 inches long, which makes them roughly the size of a forearm. Knight Anoles are undoubtedly large lizards that are best known for their prominent bone structure and ridged indent on their heads, and their dewlap is also quite big and shows a pale pink color.
Native to Cuba, knight anoles have established themselves in Southern Florida and the Keys, where this type of lizard lives in high trees and hardly ever travels across the ground. They rarely bite humans but will defend their territory aggressively against other lizards, using press-up movements to scare off their predators. Their size and calm temperament have also made them popular in the exotic pet trade; readers curious about keeping large lizards can browse the types of pet reptiles commonly kept by hobbyists, and compare knight anoles to the color-shifting species covered in the types of chameleons in Florida.
4. Curly-tailed Lizard
Named for the way it curls its tail into a tight spiral when alarmed, the curly-tailed lizard is a Bahamian import that has thrived across the island chain. According to a Canadian travel blog documenting a Keys trip, Curlytail Lizards are named for their distinctive curly tail and native to the Bahamas. Herpers surveying Monroe County describe them as common in some areas, where they really seem to like the tops of rock piles.
The species did not arrive by accident. Keys Weekly reports that the curly-tailed lizard was released into the sugar cane fields in the hopes that they would act as a form of pest control. Decades later, the tables may be turning: a separate Keys Weekly history piece notes that an African species called a red-headed agama, a bigger, stronger and faster lizard, is making inroads on the island chain, potentially threatening curly-tailed lizard numbers in the coming decades. Anyone exploring the rocky shorelines where these lizards bask might also enjoy learning about the types of crabs in the Florida Keys that share the same rock-pile habitat.
5. Green Iguana
Few lizards divide Keys residents like the green iguana, Iguana iguana. Visitors often marvel at how Green Iguanas are abundant in the Florida Keys, seeming to be as plentiful in the Keys as squirrels are in Canada, and can grow to an impressive 4-6 feet in length. For homeowners, the novelty wears off fast, since for the majority of Florida Keys’ residents, these invasive reptiles are considered more of a pest and a threat to endangered plants, with a penchant for eating the beautiful flowers and fruits grown in the region.
The species is indigenous to Central and South America, and its Florida population traces back to a very specific event. Keys Weekly documents that in 1964, an exotic pet store owner from Miami released 300 green iguanas on purpose. Long-time Plantation Key residents have watched the population explode since then, noting that there were fewer green iguanas on the islands 20 years ago, and now they are everywhere in South Florida, the Keys and beyond. Readers interested in the iguana’s native range can also check the types of lizards in Mexico, where wild iguana populations remain part of the natural ecosystem rather than an invasive concern.
| Species | Native or Invasive | Typical Size | Where to Spot It in the Keys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green Anole | Native | 5-8 inches | Tree canopy, shrubs |
| Brown Anole | Invasive | 5-8 inches | Tree trunks, gardens, paths |
| Knight Anole | Invasive | 13-19.5 inches | High tree canopy |
| Curly-tailed Lizard | Invasive | 7-10 inches | Rock piles, seawalls |
| Green Iguana | Invasive | 4-6 feet | Yards, mangroves, seawalls |
| Florida Reef Gecko | Native | Under 2 inches | Leaf litter, coastal rock |
| Ashy Gecko | Debated/Established | Under 3 inches | Walls, tree bark at night |
| Six-lined Racerunner | Native | 6-10.5 inches | Open dry ground, scrub |
| Mole Skink | Native | 3-5 inches | Underground, tidal wrack |
6. Florida Reef Gecko
Blink and it is gone: the Florida reef gecko, Sphaerodactylus notatus, is easy to miss because it rarely grows past 2 inches. Field surveys of the Keys have flagged this species as notable for a simple reason: it is Florida’s only native gecko. According to Animal Dive, the reef gecko belongs to the class Reptilia and thrives in coastal habitats, particularly in the Florida Keys, where the warm climate and diverse ecosystem provide an ideal environment for its nocturnal lifestyle.
Physically, the species is delicate. It can grow up to 2 inches long but is so small and fragile that its skin can break with just the slightest touch, though it is extremely fast, allowing it to avoid threats with ease. Coloring runs mostly brown, since Florida Reef Geckos are mostly brown with a few dark spots that eventually fade over time. Because so many invasive gecko species now compete for the same leaf litter and rock crevices, comparing the reef gecko to its cousins on the types of geckos in Florida page helps put its rarity into perspective.
Important Note: The Florida reef gecko’s tiny size and nocturnal habits make it one of the hardest native reptiles to document. Sightings reported to citizen-science apps help researchers track how invasive gecko species are affecting its population.
7. Ashy Gecko
The ashy gecko, Sphaerodactylus elegans, has a longer history in the Keys than most people realize. The Pet Enthusiast describes it as the largest dwarf gecko found in North America, reaching a total length of 2.75 inches, native to Cuba. Records show the species has been recorded in Florida Keys since the early 1920s, which is long enough that some herpetologists question whether it should even be classified as introduced.
Juveniles look strikingly different from adults, with tiny black and white spots over the body, tail, and legs against a dark brown to gray background, while juveniles have cross bands in black on their heads and bodies, which are more green than gray with red coloration to their tails. Unfortunately, this once-common gecko is losing ground. Herpers surveying the lower Keys note that the tropical house geckos are eliminating virtually all of the little gecko species and ashy geckos have disappeared from places that they were once ubiquitous in. One longtime observer even argued that ashy geckos always being listed as non-native or exotic is questionable, since they’ve always been found in at least the lower Keys with no clear point at which one can identify their origin there. Readers interested in how island gecko populations shift over time can compare notes with the types of lizards in Hawaii, another chain where non-native geckos have reshaped the local reptile community.
8. Six-lined Racerunner
Speed is the defining trait of the six-lined racerunner, Aspidoscelis sexlineatus (formerly classified as Cnemidophorus sexlineatus). According to Wikipedia, this species of lizard is native to the United States and Mexico, and it remains one of the few true native lizards still holding on in the Keys alongside the green anole and reef gecko.
Its markings make it easy to identify: the lizard is typically dark green, brown, or black in color, with six yellow or green-yellow stripes that extend down the body from head to tail. It sticks to open, sun-baked ground rather than climbing, since, according to Wild South Florida, six-lined racerunners are terrestrial creatures, sticking to the ground rather than climbing trees, and in Florida you’ll find them in dry areas, like scrubs, coastal dunes and open woodlands. Their diet leans heavily on insects; Bird Watching HQ notes that Six-Lined Racerunners are insectivores, and their primary food source is termites, though they also eat beetles, ants, and spiders. Their range extends well beyond the Keys, and readers can find related populations described on the types of lizards in Tennessee page, since racerunners occupy dry open habitat across much of the southeastern United States.
Pro Tip: A racerunner’s speed is its best identifier. If a lizard darts across open sand or gravel in a blur rather than climbing, it is almost certainly a six-lined racerunner rather than an anole.
9. Mole Skink
The mole skink rounds out the list as one of the Keys’ most secretive native reptiles. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service describes the Florida Keys mole skink, Eumeces egregius egregius, as a small lizard known to occur only on islands in the Florida Keys. Unlike the sun-loving racerunner, this species spends most of its life out of sight, since Florida Keys mole skinks spend most of their time under ground or under groundcover since they are cold-blooded reptiles dependent on air and soil temperature to thermoregulate.
Its body is built for burrowing rather than sprinting. FWS notes it is semi-fossorial and cryptic in nature, and while it can run, it more often uses swimming as a method to move through loose substrate. Habitat quality matters enormously for this species: soil and moisture conditions help define its habitat, since skinks are seldom encountered where the soil is not well drained and friable, and groundcover such as leaf litter, debris, or tidal wrack is essential to provide protection from predators. Physically, it is a slender, small lizard colored brown, tan, or grey, with smooth scales and two to four pairs of light stripes extending from the head and neck.
The mole skink’s future is closely tied to the islands themselves. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission notes that one turtle, one lizard, and five snake taxa in the Florida Keys are currently state listed, and the mole skink’s low, ground-hugging lifestyle leaves it exposed to sea level rise, increased high tide flooding and storm surges, and shifts in seasonal patterns of rainfall and temperature. Anyone documenting reptiles on a Keys nature walk should treat a mole skink sighting as a genuinely rare find.
Between the sun-basking anoles, the burrowing mole skink, and the geckos that only come out after dark, the Florida Keys pack an outsized amount of lizard diversity into a narrow island chain. Knowing which species are native and which arrived by cargo ship or pet-trade release adds context to every sighting, whether it happens on a hotel balcony in Key West or a quiet trail in the Lower Keys. For a wider tour of the region’s small creatures, the types of spiders in Florida and types of jellyfish in Florida guides cover more of the wildlife sharing these same islands.