''Conolophus pallidus'' (the Santa Fe land iguana or Barrington land iguana) is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of lizard in the family

Iguanidae The Iguanidae is a family of lizards composed of the iguanas, chuckwallas, and their prehistoric relatives, including the widespread green iguana. Taxonomy Iguanidae is thought to be the sister group to the collared lizards (family Crotaph ...

. It is one of three species in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

Conolophus The Galápagos land iguanas comprise the genus ''Conolophus'' of the Galápagos Islands (Ecuador). The number of species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit o ...

'' and is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

Santa Fe Island Santa Fe Island (Spanish: ''Isla Santa Fe''), also called Barrington Island after admiral Samuel Barrington, is a small island of which lies in the centre of the Galápagos archipelago, to the south-east of Santa Cruz Island. Visitor access i ...

in the Galapagos.

Taxonomy

The species was first described by American

zoologist Zoology ()The pronunciation of zoology as is usually regarded as nonstandard, though it is not uncommon. is the branch of biology that studies the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and d ...

Edmund Heller Edmund Heller (May 21, 1875 – July 18, 1939) was an American zoologist. He was President of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums for two terms, from 1935-1936 and 1937-1938. Early life While at Stanford University, he collected specimens in th ...

in 1903. Some authorities have questioned whether ''C. pallidus'' is a valid species in its own right or merely a variant or subspecies of the

Galapagos land iguana The Galápagos land iguana (''Conolophus subcristatus'') is a very large species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It is one of three species of the genus ''Conolophus''. It is endemic to the Galápagos Islands, in the dry lowlands of the islan ...

found on other islands in the Galapagos.

Etymology

Its specific name, ''pallidus'', is

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for "pale", denoting its lighter coloration than ''C. subcristatus''.

Morphology

The Santa Fe land iguana is similar to the Galapagos land iguana except that the Santa Fe land iguana is paler yellow with a longer more tapered snout and more pronounced dorsal spines. The Santa Fe land iguana grows to a total length (including tail) of with a body weight of up to . Being cold-blooded, it absorbs heat from the sun basking on volcanic rocks and at night sleep in burrows to conserve its body heat. These iguanas also enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the island's

finches The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where they are usua ...

; the birds remove

parasites Parasitism is a close relationship between species, where one organism, the parasite, lives on or inside another organism, the host, causing it some harm, and is adapted structurally to this way of life. The entomologist E. O. Wilson ha ...

and

tick Ticks (order Ixodida) are parasitic arachnids that are part of the mite superorder Parasitiformes. Adult ticks are approximately 3 to 5 mm in length depending on age, sex, species, and "fullness". Ticks are external parasites, living by ...

s, providing relief to the iguana and food for the birds.

Diet

Santa Fe land iguanas are primarily

herbivorous A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically adapted to eating plant material, for example foliage or marine algae, for the main component of its diet. As a result of their plant diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouthpar ...

, however some individuals have shown that they are opportunistic

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other s ...

s supplementing their diet with insects, centipedes and carrion. Because fresh water is scarce on the islands they inhabit, land iguanas obtain the majority of their moisture from the prickly-pear cactus that makes up 80% of its diet: fruit, flowers, pads, and even spines. During the rainy season they will drink from available standing pools of water and feast on yellow flowers of the genus ''

Portulaca ''Portulaca'' (, is the type genus of the flowering plant family Portulacaceae, with over 100 species, found in the tropics and warm temperate regions. They are known as the purslanes. Common purslane (''Portulaca oleracea'') is widely consume ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q280780 pallidus Endemic reptiles of the Galápagos Islands Reptiles described in 1903 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by Edmund Heller