An albino lizard hatchling, one of the first to be gene edited with CRISPR. (Doug Menke)

Skittering among the Caribbean flora are anole lizards, tiny reptiles no bigger than a finger’s length. Sporting shades of grey, brown and green, island life has spurred the evolution of some 150 species there.

As a result, anole lizards have become a key scientific model for research into how reptiles develop and evolve. But scientists have been missing a critical element: the tools to investigate t