''Ctenosaura clarki'', commonly known as the Balsas armed lizard, Balsas spiny-tailed iguana, Michoacán dwarf spiny-tailed iguana, or ''nopiche'', 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 ...

. The species native to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Etymology

The specific name, ''clarki'', is in honor of Dr. Herbert Charles Clark (1877-1960), director of medical research and laboratories, United Fruit Co., for his support of the herpetological collection of the

Museum of Comparative Zoology A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . ("''Ctenosaura clarkii'' ic, p. 54).

Geographic range

''C. clarki'' 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 ...

to the Balsas dry forests in the state of Michoacán in western

Behavior

A semi-arboreal species, ''C. clarki'' shelters in hollow branches of tree cacti.

Reproduction

''C. clarki'' is oviparous.

Conservation status

''C. clarki'' is threatened by

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

Etymology

Geographic range

Behavior

Reproduction

Conservation status

References

Further reading