We determined the karyotype of Anolis desechensis and compared it with the known karyotypes of other members of the Anolis cristatellus series. The diploid (2N) number of chromosomes of two male A. desechensis was 27, with six pairs of large metacentric macrochromosomes, six pairs of microchromosomes of gradually decreasing size, and sex chromosome heteromorphism (three sex chromosomes, X₁X₂Y). This chromosome complement is identical to that of A. cristatellus and A. scriptus, thus providing additional evidence of a close relationship to these taxa. The evolution of chromosome number within the cristatellus series appears to have involved minimal homoplasy and therefore contains useful phylogenetic information.