11 Types of Lizards in Miami: A Field Guide to Native and Invasive Species
October 25, 2026
The types of lizards in Miami tell a strange story about how a subtropical city became a magnet for reptiles from four different continents. Florida now supports 58 established lizard species, more than any other state in the country, and the vast majority live in the southern half of the peninsula around Miami-Dade County, according to a University of Miami study reported by the Miami Herald.
There are more species of non-native lizards living in Florida than there are native ones, according to Zoo Miami’s Ron Magill. That single fact separates a Miami backyard from almost anywhere else in the United States. Walk through a Miami-Dade park and it’s entirely possible to spot a rainbow-colored African lizard, a Cuban anole, and a Caribbean curly-tail within the same ten minutes.
This guide breaks down the 11 lizards residents and visitors are most likely to encounter, from the tiniest house gecko to the six-foot Nile monitor now patrolling South Florida’s canal system. For readers curious how this compares elsewhere, the broader lizard population across Florida follows many of the same patterns, just spread across a larger area.
1. Peter’s Rock Agama (Rainbow Lizard)
The Peter’s rock agama, or Agama picticauda, is hard to miss once you know what you’re looking for. This rainbow agama lizard from West Africa has green and orange coloring from head to tail that makes it look like a University of Miami Hurricanes mascot. Males display the brightest colors, while females and juveniles are duller brown and gray.
Formally known as the Peter’s Rock Agama, this species has seen unprecedented rates of growth in South Florida over the past five years, and researchers now consider it the fastest-spreading reptile species in Miami-Dade County. Rock agamas, thought to have been introduced around Homestead in the south of Miami-Dade County, increased in abundance 36-fold over that same five-year stretch.
Interestingly, the agama’s rise appears to be reshaping the local lizard community rather than simply adding to it. The only noted impact so far is that agamas seem to decrease the density of Miami’s most abundant non-native lizard, the brown anole, though this connection remains anecdotal and hasn’t been formally studied. Anyone interested in how introduced reptiles establish themselves through the pet trade can find related background in this guide to common pet reptile species.
Pro Tip: Look for Peter’s rock agamas basking on rock walls, concrete culverts, and sunny sidewalks during the hottest part of the day. They prefer open, hard surfaces over dense vegetation.
2. Curly-Tailed Lizard
The northern curly-tailed lizard, Leiocephalus carinatus, gets its name from the way it curls its tail into a tight coil when alert or displaying. Native to the Bahamas, Cuba, and the Cayman Islands, this species is now considered a Floridian, according to a University of Miami study. Its stocky body, rough scales, and grayish-brown coloring make it easy to distinguish from the slimmer anoles it often shares habitat with.
Population growth among curly-tails has been just as dramatic as the agama’s expansion. The curly-tailed lizards increased 22-fold in Miami-Dade County between 2017 and 2022, according to Christopher Searcy, an associate professor of biology at the University of Miami. Researchers believe curly-tails were originally introduced in West Palm Beach, north of Miami-Dade County, before spreading south.
Curly-tails favor open, sunbaked terrain over the shady tree canopies that many anoles prefer. Visitors to reptile-themed venues in the Miami area may even step over curly-tailed lizards on their way inside, so common has the species become in urban settings. Readers interested in the species’ Caribbean origins can explore related lizard diversity in this guide to lizards found in Jamaica, one of the curly-tail’s native island homes.
3. Brown Anole
The brown anole, Anolis sagrei, is by far the most numerous lizard in the Miami area. Originally from Cuba and the Bahamas, these lizards have adapted extremely well to the urban environment of Miami. Males show off an orange-red dewlap and raise a spiny crest along their back and tail when defending territory or courting a mate.
The scale of this species’ dominance is striking. In one recent survey, researchers estimated that brown anoles alone accounted for 44 percent of all reptiles and amphibians counted in Miami-Dade County. That single number explains why almost any patch of grass, fence line, or garden wall in Miami seems to have a brown anole doing push-ups on it.
Brown anoles are also known for territorial behavior, often defending their chosen perches from rival males. They compete directly with the native green anole for food and basking spots, which has pushed green anoles higher into tree canopies in many neighborhoods. A detailed identification breakdown of related anole species appears in the iNaturalist field guide to South Florida anoles.
4. Green Anole
The green anole, Anolis carolinensis, holds a special distinction among Miami’s lizards. It is the only anole species native to the United States, while the other anoles present in Miami, up to seven species in total, arrived through deliberate or accidental introductions from Caribbean islands.
What makes the green anole especially fun to watch is its color-changing ability. The green anole is the most iconic native lizard in Florida and other states like Texas, known for its ability to change from bright green to brown, and it’s often confused with the invasive brown anole. Males flash a bright pink dewlap during territorial disputes and courtship displays, a signature move that distinguishes them from the orange-dewlapped brown anole.
Because of competition from brown anoles and habitat loss, green anoles in Miami are now seen mostly higher up in trees and shrubs rather than at ground level. Homeowners hoping to attract this native species can plant dense shrubbery and avoid pesticide use in garden beds. The same species also ranges widely across the Southeast, as covered in this guide to lizards native to Georgia.
Key Insight: If you see a green-colored anole in Miami, check first for a pink dewlap and a more slender build. Brown anoles can also appear greenish in certain lighting, so color alone is not a reliable way to tell the two species apart.
5. Iguana (Green Iguana / Mexican Spiny-Tailed Iguana)
Two large iguana species have become permanent, and often unwelcome, fixtures of the Miami landscape. The green iguana (Iguana iguana) is the more familiar of the two, a bulky, spike-backed lizard that can grow surprisingly large. Some Florida lizards, like the green iguana, can grow longer than a child is tall.
The Mexican spiny-tailed iguana (Ctenosaura similis) is the second common iguana species in South Florida, distinguished by its ringed, spiky tail and grayish-tan coloring. Unlike Miami’s smaller lizards, both iguana species can behave defensively when cornered. Species such as the spiny-tailed iguana might act defensively if they feel threatened, hissing, puffing up, or trying to escape.
Iguanas also cause real property concerns in South Florida. Iguanas can be more aggressive than Miami’s smaller lizards and might bite if they feel threatened, and they can also cause damage by digging burrows, so it’s good to be cautious around them. Their burrowing has been known to undermine sidewalks, seawalls, and canal banks throughout Miami-Dade. The spiny-tailed iguana’s native range is explored further in this guide to lizard species found in Mexico.
6. Five-Lined Skink
Unlike most of the lizards on this list, the five-lined skink (Plestiodon fasciatus) is a genuinely native species, and one of Florida’s more secretive residents. Skinks are smooth and slender lizards that typically have a long body and short legs, giving them a glossy, almost polished look compared to the rougher-scaled anoles and agamas sharing the same habitat.
Juvenile five-lined skinks have a striking bright blue tail and five pale stripes running the length of their dark body, though the blue fades and the stripes dull as the lizard matures. They’re easy to confuse with the related coal skink, but there’s a reliable way to tell them apart. Coal skinks have blunter heads than the five-lined skink, and no stripe along the spine.
Five-lined skinks spend most of their time hidden under leaf litter, logs, and loose bark rather than basking in the open like anoles. They’re most active during warm mornings when hunting insects and spiders in shaded, moist ground cover. This species also ranges well outside Florida, and readers can compare regional populations in this guide to lizards found in Tennessee.
7. Glass Lizard
Few Miami reptiles cause more confusion than the glass lizard, a legless species frequently mistaken for a snake. Florida is home to two groups of legless lizards often mistaken for snakes, the glass lizards and worm lizards. There are four species of glass lizards found in Florida, all belonging to the scientific genus Ophisaurus, ranging from 15 to 40 inches long and usually tan, brown, or greenish with dark lengthwise stripes on their backs.
The easiest way to confirm you’re looking at a lizard rather than a snake comes down to two features. Unlike snakes, glass lizards have moveable eyelids and external ear openings. Look closely near the head, and you’ll notice a small ear opening that no snake possesses.
Their name comes from an unusual defensive trait. Glass lizards have very smooth, shiny scales reinforced by bones called osteoderms, making their bodies hard and brittle, so their tails break easily and they are often seen with broken tails in the process of regrowth. This trait, called caudal autotomy, lets the lizard escape predators by sacrificing part of its tail. Full identification details are available through the University of Florida’s guide to legless lizards.
8. Brown Basilisk
The brown basilisk (Basiliscus vittatus) has earned a nickname that perfectly describes its most famous trick. Brown basilisks are also known as “Jesus lizards” because of their ability to sprint across the surface of water when fleeing predators. Long rear toes with fringed scales let them slap the water fast enough to stay above the surface for short bursts.
Identification comes down to a few consistent markings. Brown basilisks are brown or dark olive, with a distinct yellow or cream-colored stripe on each side of their body running from the eye down their back, a second stripe often visible on the face extending to the shoulder, and adults ranging in size from 11 to 27 inches. Males also develop a tall crest along the head and back as they mature, giving them a small dragon-like profile.
Beyond their acrobatics, brown basilisks have drawn attention from public health researchers. A study published in Frontiers found that Culex mosquitoes prefer to feed on nonnative lizards, and brown basilisks are among five identified nonnative lizards that serve as hosts for mosquitoes carrying West Nile virus and St. Louis encephalitis virus in Florida. Researchers with UF/IFAS Extension say brown basilisks are thriving in South and Central Florida, with reports ranging from the Florida Keys to Gainesville. Anyone who spots one is encouraged to photograph and report the sighting, as detailed in this UF/IFAS report on the species.
9. House Gecko
House geckos are the small, pale, translucent-looking lizards that show up on porch screens and window frames after dark. Florida is home to 12 types of geckos, though most residents will only see the Mediterranean and tropical house species. The Mediterranean house gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, has become one of the most familiar reptiles in Miami’s urban environment.
The Mediterranean house gecko is a small gecko species that has become widespread in many urban areas, including Miami. Its bumpy, warty skin and large, lidless eyes make it easy to distinguish from Miami’s smooth-scaled anoles and skinks.
House geckos are also unusually chatty for a lizard. These geckos are commonly found on ceilings and under awnings at night, where they hunt insects, and they’re unusual because they make short, high-pitched vocalizations to communicate. That faint clicking or chirping sound coming from a porch light at night is very likely a house gecko announcing territory or calling a mate. Similar species thrive across Southeast Asia, as detailed in guides covering lizards found in Malaysia and lizard species in the Philippines.
10. Tegu
The Argentine black-and-white tegu (Salvator merianae) is one of the largest and most concerning invasive lizards established south of Miami. Sightings of this large black-and-white invasive lizard, established in areas southeast of Tampa and south of Miami, should be reported immediately to Florida’s invasive species hotline. Adults can reach four feet or more in length and display a bold black-and-white banded pattern along the body and tail.
Tegus pose a genuine risk to native wildlife because of their broad, opportunistic diet. Both Nile monitors and Argentine giant tegus are predatory lizards considered an immediate threat to the Greater Everglades ecosystem. Camera-trap evidence has documented the scale of that threat firsthand. One Argentine tegu was caught by a research camera having hunted an alligator egg.
Because tegus also eat native ground-nesting birds, small mammals, and reptile eggs, wildlife agencies actively encourage residents to report sightings rather than attempt to handle or capture the animal. Details on identification and range appear in the UF/IFAS Extension fact sheet on the tegu lizard. Related large lizard species also appear in Texas populations, covered in this guide to Texas lizard species.
Important Note: Tegus and Nile monitors are both classified as prohibited or invasive species in Florida. Residents who spot either lizard are encouraged to report the sighting to the FWC Exotic Species Hotline rather than attempting to capture or relocate the animal themselves.
11. Nile Monitor
The Nile monitor, Varanus niloticus, is the largest lizard on this list and the newest to draw serious attention from Florida wildlife officials. One invasive species hunter describes the Nile monitor as essentially a smaller Komodo dragon, a predatory lizard that doesn’t mess around, more like a python mixed with an iguana.
Its history in Florida stretches back further than many residents realize. According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Nile monitors have been in South Florida since the 1990s and were first documented in Miami-Dade County in 2008, though hunters report encountering the lizards more frequently in recent years. Nile monitors are known to have breeding populations in Lee and Palm Beach Counties, but evidence suggests established populations may also exist in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties.
Size and diet make this species a particular concern for South Florida’s wetlands. Nile monitors can grow up to 6.5 feet long and weigh nearly 20 pounds. South Florida’s extensive canal system may provide dispersal corridors for the species, which tends to inhabit water edges, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s regulatory status report.
Their diet puts them in direct competition with native predators and threatens vulnerable species. Their diet is broad and includes many of Florida’s native species, including crabs, crayfish, mussels, snails, slugs, termites, caterpillars, beetles, spiders, grasshoppers, crickets, frogs, fish, toads, lizards, turtles, snakes, young crocodiles, and birds and their eggs, as well as small mammals, according to the FWC. Having a predator such as the Nile monitor in Florida is a detriment to native species and a further threat to listed species such as gopher tortoises and burrowing owls.
Because nonnative reptile species are not protected in Florida except by anti-cruelty law, Nile monitors can be humanely killed on private property with landowner permission, and this species can be captured and killed year-round without a permit or hunting license on 32 commission-managed lands in south Florida. Full regulatory details are available on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Nile monitor profile. The species’ native range across sub-Saharan Africa is explored further in this guide to lizard species found in South Africa, while monitor lizards elsewhere in the world are covered in this overview of reptile species in India.
Comparing Miami’s Most Common Lizards
Sorting through 11 species can feel overwhelming at first glance, so the table below breaks down size, origin, and where each lizard tends to turn up around Miami-Dade County.
| Lizard | Native or Invasive | Typical Size | Where to Spot It |
|---|---|---|---|
| Peter’s Rock Agama | Invasive (West Africa) | 7-10 inches | Rock walls, culverts, sunny sidewalks |
| Curly-Tailed Lizard | Invasive (Caribbean) | 7-11 inches | Open pavement, parking lots, canal edges |
| Brown Anole | Invasive (Cuba, Bahamas) | 5-9 inches | Fences, garden walls, low shrubs |
| Green Anole | Native | 5-8 inches | Tree canopies, dense shrubbery |
| Iguana (Green / Spiny-Tailed) | Invasive (Central/South America, Mexico) | 2-5+ feet | Seawalls, canal banks, mangroves |
| Five-Lined Skink | Native | 5-8.5 inches | Leaf litter, logs, shaded ground cover |
| Glass Lizard | Native | 15-40 inches | Sandy soil, grassy fields |
| Brown Basilisk | Invasive (Central America) | 11-27 inches | Canal banks, ponds, wetland edges |
| House Gecko | Invasive (Mediterranean/Asia) | 4-5 inches | Porch screens, window frames, ceilings |
| Tegu | Invasive (Argentina) | Up to 4+ feet | South of Miami, Everglades-adjacent areas |
| Nile Monitor | Invasive (sub-Saharan Africa) | Up to 6.5 feet | Canals, water edges, waterways |
Anyone looking to compare Miami’s lineup against other lizard-rich regions of the country can browse related guides covering Arizona’s desert lizard species or California’s coastal and inland lizards, both of which host very different reptile communities shaped by climate rather than the pet trade.
Miami’s lizard population is likely to keep shifting as new species establish themselves and existing populations expand or decline. What’s clear from the research so far is that Miami-Dade functions as something like a living laboratory for invasive species biology, one where a curious backyard observer can watch evolutionary and ecological pressure play out in real time.
Whether the fascination is with a harmless anole or a six-foot Nile monitor, Miami’s reptile community remains one of the most unusual in North America, and reporting unusual sightings to state wildlife agencies helps researchers track where the next chapter of that story is headed.