The Pinocchio Lizard

      The Pinocchio lizard, or Anolis proboscis, is a species of anole native to Ecuador, known for it's distinct nose. Declared extinct in the 1960's, one of these lizards was spotted in 2005 walking across a road in Ecuador. They have been spotted only a hand-full of times since then. They are named after the fictional character, Pinocchio. Discovered in 1953, Pinocchio lizards were only known for a few years before they supposedly went extinct. These endangered lizards are so rare that most sightings are along a single stretch of road. We can only hope that the Pinocchio lizard will survive and that human encroachment will not make them truly go extinct.