Globally, dry forests represent a threatened ecosystem, and documentation of
biodiversity in the few remaining remnants of dry forest is needed as a basis for conservation
planning. Guánica forest, one of the best remaining representatives of subtropical dry forest
habitat, supports the richest, and most complete native dry forest lizard community on the island
of Puerto Rico. The lizard community there is comprised of 10 species, some of which are
differentially distributed among coastal scrub, deciduous, and semi-evergreen forest. Anolis
cristatellus and Sphaerodactylus nicholsi are the most abundant in all forest types, while Anolis
cooki, a threatened species, is restricted to coastal scrub habitat. Sphaerodactylus nicholsi
was most abundant in habitats where leaf litter was deep, especially in humid ravines. These
data on lizard community composition and abundance in a relatively undisturbed dry forest
provide insights into dry forest community ecology and a reference against which other dry forest
lizard communities in disturbed or otherwise impacted habitats can be compared.