Spread of the Invasive Brown Basilisk, Basiliscus vittatus, in Florida

The brown basilisk, Basiliscus vittatus, is large lizard native to coastal lowlands from central Mexico to Ecuador. In 1976, this species was first discovered in southern Florida, and it has been spreading since. My thesis documents the spread of B. vittatus through southern Florida using published and unpublished records. I mapped a total of 545 records of B. vittatus in Florida: 73 from published records, 15 from my own observations, and 457 from photographs uploaded to iNaturalist. Published reports of B. vittatus have been reported from 11 Florida counties (Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River, Monroe, Collier, Lee, Hendry, and Manatee). In addition, there have been additional unpublished photographic records uploaded to iNaturalist from two more counties (Pinellas and Brevard). These additions expand the known northern range of B. vittatus on both the East and West coasts of Florida.