''Ctenosaura similis'', commonly known as the black iguana
[Liner, Ernest A. and Gustavo Cass-Andreu. (2008). ''Standard Spanish, English and Scientific Names of the Amphibians and Reptiles of Mexico (2nd. ed.).'' Herpetological Circular No. 38. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. iv, 162 pp. ] or black spiny-tailed iguana, is a
lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
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 ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
. It has been reported in some
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n islands in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, and has been
introduced to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
in the state of
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. It is the largest
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 ...
in the genus ''
Ctenosaura
''Ctenosaura'' is a lizard genus commonly known as spinytail iguanas or ctenosaurs. The genus is part of the large lizard family, Iguanidae and is native to Mexico and Central America. The name is derived from two Greek words: ctenos (κτεν ...
''. They are typically found in areas such as grasslands and forests.
Taxonomy
The black spiny-tailed iguana was first described by
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
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, animal kingdom, including the anatomy, structure, embryology, evolution, Biological clas ...
John Edward Gray
John Edward Gray, FRS (12 February 1800 – 7 March 1875) was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of zoologist George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray (1766–1828). The same is used for ...
in 1831.
The
generic
Generic or generics may refer to:
In business
* Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark
* Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...
name, ''Ctenosaura'', is derived from two
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
words: ''ctenos'' (Κτενός), meaning "comb" (referring to the comblike spines on the lizard's back and tail), and ''saura'' (σαύρα), meaning "lizard".
Its
specific name is the
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 ...
word ''similis'' meaning "similar to", a common description found in
Linnean taxonomy
Linnaean taxonomy can mean either of two related concepts:
# The particular form of biological classification (taxonomy) set up by Carl Linnaeus, as set forth in his ''Systema Naturae'' (1735) and subsequent works. In the taxonomy of Linnaeus t ...
when referring to a new
taxon
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
.
[
]
Description
Black spiny-tailed iguana have distinctive black, keeled
scales
Scale or scales may refer to:
Mathematics
* Scale (descriptive set theory), an object defined on a set of points
* Scale (ratio), the ratio of a linear dimension of a model to the corresponding dimension of the original
* Scale factor, a number w ...
on their long
tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammals, r ...
s, which gives them their common name.
They, along with ''C. pectinata'', are the largest members of the genus ''Ctenosaura.'' The males are capable of growing up to in length and the females are slightly shorter, at .
They have a crest of long spines which extends down the center of the back.
Although coloration varies extremely among individuals of the same population, adults usually have a whitish gray or tan ground color with a series of 4–12 well-defined dark dorsal bands that extend nearly to the ventral scales.
Males also develop an orange color around the head and throat during breeding season with highlights of blue and peach on their jowls.
Diet and behavior
Black spiny-tailed iguanas are excellent climbers, and prefer a rocky habitat with plenty of crevices to hide in, rocks to bask on, and nearby trees to climb.
They are
diurnal and fast moving, employing their speed to escape predators but will lash with their tails and bite if cornered.
The
Guinness Book of World Records
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
lists this as the world's fastest lizard, with a maximal sprint speed of .
They 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 mouthpart ...
, eating flowers, leaves, stems, and fruit, but they will opportunistically eat smaller animals (
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s,
bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most ...
s,
frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
s, small
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s and smaller iguanas), eggs and
arthropod
Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a Segmentation (biology), segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and Arth ...
s.
Juveniles tend to be
insectivore
A robber fly eating a hoverfly
An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects.
The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...
s, becoming more
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 mouthpart ...
as they get older. They are known to eat the fruit and live in the limbs of the
manchineel
The manchineel tree (''Hippomane mancinella'') is a species of flowering plant in the spurge family (Euphorbiaceae). Its native range stretches from tropical southern North America to northern South America.
The name "manchineel" (sometimes spel ...
, a tree highly poisonous to most other animals.
González-García et al. 2009 find that
abundance
Abundance may refer to:
In science and technology
* Abundance (economics), the opposite of scarcities
* Abundance (ecology), the relative representation of a species in a community
* Abundance (programming language), a Forth-like computer prog ...
is highly dependent on 3 dimensional structure of landscape, tall vegetation not merely short grass.
Distribution
The black spiny-tailed iguana is native to southern
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 ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, ranging from the
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec () is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. Before the opening of the Panama Canal, it was a major overland transport route known simply as the Te ...
southward to
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
, occurring at sea level to ca. 1,320 meters elevation, but it is absent from interior highlands.
Köhler
Köhler is a German surname, referring to a man making charcoal from wood.
Geographical distribution
As of 2014, 96.2% of all known bearers of the surname ''Köhler'' were residents of Germany (frequency 1:641) and 1.5% of Austria (1:4,238).
...
, Gunther. 2008. ''Reptiles of Central America'', 2nd Edition. Herpeton, Verlag Elke Köhler, Offenbach, Germany. 400 pp. (pages 139–144) Its distribution is irregular and discontinuous on the Atlantic versant where it ranges through portions of
Tabasco
Tabasco (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tabasco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tabasco), is one of the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 17 municipalities and its capital city is Villahermosa.
It is located in ...
, northern
Chiapas
Chiapas (; Tzotzil language, Tzotzil and Tzeltal language, Tzeltal: ''Chyapas'' ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Chiapas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas), is one of the states that make up the Political divisions of Mexico, ...
,
Campeche
Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...
,
Yucatan, and
Quintana Roo
Quintana Roo ( , ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Quintana Roo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Quintana Roo), is one of the 31 states which, with Mexico City, constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico. It is divided into 11 mu ...
in Mexico, much of
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
,
Guatemala
Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...
,
[ Campbell, Jonathan A. 1998. ''Amphibians and Reptiles of Northern Guatemala, the Yucatán, and Beliz''e. University of Oklahoma Press. Norman. xix, 380 pp. (pages 142–144) ][Lee, Julian C. 1996. ''The Amphibians and Reptiles of the Yucatán Peninsula''. Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York. xii, 500 pp. (pages 206–208)] and the northern coast of
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
(often following rivers into interior valleys and canyons),
[McCranie, James R. 2018. ''The Lizards, Crocodiles, and Turtles of Honduras: Systematic, Distribution, and Conservation''. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Special Publications Series, No. 2: 1-666 pp. (pages 273–281)] but with only a few isolated and disjunct records southward in eastern
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
,
Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, and Panama.
[ Savage, Jay M. 2002. ''The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica, A Herpetofauna between Two Continents, between Two Seas''. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. xx, 934 pp. (pages 435–437) ] On the Pacific coast its distribution is continuous from extreme southeast
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
and southern Chiapas, Mexico, south through Guatemala,
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
,
[Köhler, Gunther., Milan Veselý, and Eli Greenbaum. 2006. ''The Amphibians and Reptiles of El Salvador''. Krieger Publishing Company. Malabar, Florida. ix, 238 pp. (pages 113–115) ] Honduras,
Nicaragua, Costa Rica,
to the
Azuero Peninsula
Azuero Peninsula ( es, Península de Azuero) is a large peninsula in southern Panama. It is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean in the south; the Pacific and Gulf of Montijo to the west, and by the Gulf of Panama in the east. The peninsula is effectiv ...
in Panama.
[Köhler, Gunther. 2002. ''Schwarzleguane: Lebensweise, Pflege, Zucht''. Herpeton, Verlag Elke Köhler, Offenbach, Germany. 142 pp. (pages 110–120, & 128b) ]
It is also found on many Caribbean and Pacific islands including:
Isla Aguada
Isla Aguada is a town in the Carmen municipality, in the state of Campeche, Mexico. The town is located in the tip of the Palmar Peninsula, about 40 km from the seat of the Carmen municipality, Ciudad del Carmen, and 90 km from the capital of the ...
,
Isla Contoy
Isla Contoy is a small island in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, approximately 30 kilometers north of Isla Mujeres. The island is only in length and has an area of .
Since 1961, Isla Contoy is protected by the Mexican government and was decla ...
,
Cozumel
Cozumel (; yua, Kùutsmil) is an island and municipality in the Caribbean Sea off the eastern coast of Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, opposite Playa del Carmen. It is separated from the mainland by the Cozumel Channel and is close to the Yucatán ...
, and
Isla Mujeres
Isla Mujeres (, Spanish language, Spanish for "Women Island" (formally “Isla de Mujeres”) is an island where the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea meet, about off the Yucatán Peninsula coast in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico. It is ap ...
in Mexico;
[Alberts, Allison C., Ronald L. Carter, William K. Hays, and Emília P. Martins (Editors). 2004. ''Iguanas: Biology and Conservation''. University of California Press. Berkeley. xvi, 356 pp. (pages 34–35) ] Ambergris Caye
Ambergris Caye ( ; Spanish: Cayo Ambergris), is the largest island of Belize, located northeast of the country's mainland, in the Caribbean Sea. It is about long from north to south, and about wide. Where it has not been modified by humans, it ...
,
Glover's Reef
Glover's Reef is a partially submerged atoll located off the southern coast of Belize, approximately 45 kilometres from the mainland. It forms part of the outermost boundary of the Belize Barrier Reef, and is one of its three atolls, besides Turn ...
,
Half Moon Caye
Half Moon Caye is an island and natural monument of Belize located at the southeast corner of Lighthouse Reef Atoll. This natural monument was the first nature reserve to have been established in Belize under the National Park Systems Act in 198 ...
, Belize;
Isla de Utila,
Guanaja
Guanaja is one of the Bay Islands of Honduras and is in the Caribbean. It is about off the north coast of Honduras, and from the island of Roatan. One of the cays off Guanaja, also called Guanaja or Bonacca or Low Cay (or just simply, The C ...
,
Roatán
Roatán () is an island in the Caribbean, about off the northern coast of Honduras. It is located between the islands of Utila and Guanaja, and is the largest of the Bay Islands of Honduras. The island was formerly known in English as Ruatan ...
, and the islands in the
Golfo de Fonseca, Honduras;
[McCranie, James R., Larry David Wilson, and Gunther Köhloer. 2005. ''Amphibians and Reptiles of the Bay Islands and Cayos Cochinos, Honduras''. Bibliomania!. Salt Lake City, Utah. xiii, 210 pp. (pages 96–97) ] Isla de Maíz Grande (
Corn Islands
The Corn Islands are two islands about east of the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua, constituting one of 12 municipalities of the South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region. The official name of the municipality is ''Corn Island'' (the English name is ...
) Nicaragua;
Coiba Island
Coiba is the largest island in Central America, with an area of , off the Pacific coast of the Panamanian province of Chiriquí. It is part of the Tolé District of that province.
History
Coiba separated from continental Panama about 12,000 to ...
and
Isla del Rey, Panamá;
Isla San Andrés and
Providencia, Colombia.
[ Schwartz, Albert, and Robert W. Henderson. 1991. ''Amphibian and Reptiles of the West Indies: Descriptions, Distribution, and Natural History''. University of Florida Press. Gainesville. (pages 387–388) ][ Powell, Robert, and Robert W. Henderson (Editors). 1996. ''Contributions to West Indian Herpetology: A Tribute to Albert Schwarts''. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles. 457 pp. (page 105) ] Its status on a few of these islands, as a native or invasive species is questionable. Some herpetologist presume dispersal to the Islas San Andrés and Providencia, Colombia occurred in the
Quaternary
The Quaternary ( ) is the current and most recent of the three periods of the Cenozoic Era in the geologic time scale of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS). It follows the Neogene Period and spans from 2.58 million years ...
,
while another suspects these and some other insular populations are "likely" human introductions.
It has been introduced and is now established in southern Florida, a few islands in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
,
Malpelo Island
Malpelo is a small oceanic island in the eastern Pacific Ocean, located about west of the Colombian mainland with a military post manned by the Colombian Armed Forces. It consists of a sheer and barren rock with three high peaks, the highest ...
, Colombia,
and
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
[Barrio-Amorós, César Luis and Gilson Rivas-Fuenmayor. 2008. ''Spiny-tailed Iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) in Venezuela: A Preliminary Report''. Iguana. 15( 3) 160-161.]
The black spiny-tailed iguana has been introduced to South
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
and reproduces in the wild in several
feral
A feral () animal or plant is one that lives in the wild but is descended from domesticated individuals. As with an introduced species, the introduction of feral animals or plants to non-native regions may disrupt ecosystems and has, in some ...
populations. On the southwestern
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
coast, it has been discovered from
Collier County
Collier County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 375,752; an increase of 16.9% since the 2010 United States Census. Its county seat is East Naples, where the county offices were moved from Ev ...
north to
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and shallow estuary connected to the Gulf of Mexico on the west-central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, McKay Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay. The largest freshwater in ...
.
[Krysko, K. L. & King, F. W. & Enge, K. M. & Reppas, A. T. (2003): Sarasota county ''Distribution of the introduced black spiny-tailed iguana (''Ctenosaura similis'') on the southwestern coast of Florida''. Florida Scientist, ]Lawrence, Kansas
Lawrence is the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70, between the Kansas River, Kansas and Waka ...
, USA; 66 (2): 74-79. On the southeastern
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
coast, black spiny-tailed iguanas have been found on
Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne ( es, Cayo Vizcaíno, link=no) is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies sou ...
,
Hialeah
Hialeah ( ; ) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. With a population of 223,109 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Hialeah is the sixth-largest city in Florida. It is the second largest city by population in the Mi ...
, and in
Broward County
Broward County ( , ) is a county in the southeastern part of Florida, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County and the 17th-most populous in the United States, with over 1.94 ...
. This iguana has also been introduced to several islands in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
.
As this species will opportunistically feed on small
vertebrates
Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () ( chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, ...
, such as
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
,
rodent
Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...
s,
egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
s,
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
s, and even hatchling
sea turtle
Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...
s it may pose a threat to endangered native species.
Reproduction
Mating generally occurs in the spring. Males show dominance and interest by head bobbing; eventually the male will chase the female until he can catch her and subdue her.
Within eight to ten weeks, the female will dig a nest and lay clutches of up to 30
eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
.
The eggs hatch in 90 days with the hatchlings digging their way out of the sand.
These juveniles are typically green with brown markings, although all brown hatchlings have been recorded as well.
[
]
Commercial usage
In some parts of Central America, the black spiny-tailed iguana, colloquially called the "chicken of the trees," is farmed alongside the
green iguana as a food source and for export for the pet trade
ee_iguana_meat.html" ;"title="iguana_meat.html" ;"title="ee iguana meat">ee iguana meat">iguana_meat.html" ;"title="ee iguana meat">ee iguana meat Although it is heavily hunted it does not appear to be endangered in any of its native territory.
Gallery
File:Ctenosaura male close-up.jpg, Head of an adult male, Barra Honda National Park, Costa Rica (16 February 2007)
File:Iguana Manual Antonio.jpg, An adult male''Ctenosaura similis'' from Costa Rica
File:Black Spiny-tailed Iguana-27527.jpg, A basking female Black spiny-tailed iguana on the island of Cozumel in Quintana Roo, Mexico (2 February 2008)
File:Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (16422875267).jpg, A male from Uxmal, Yucatán, México (11 February 2015)
File:Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (16444375419).jpg, A female from Uxmal, Yucatán, México (11 February 2015)
File:Black Spiny-tailed Iguanas (Ctenosaura similis) male with 3 females, Edzna, Campeche.jpg, A large male black spiny-tailed iguanas with three smaller females, Edzna, Campeche, Mexico
File:Black Iguana Juvenile (Ctenosaura similis) (7090315457).jpg, Juveniles are typically green and turn dark with age, Santa Rosa National Park, Costa Rica (7 October 2006)
File:Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (16444376699).jpg, Female or sub-adult from Uxmal, Yucatán, México (11 February 2015)
File:Tolok.jpg, Adult male among Mayan ruins (14 February 2014)
File:Black Ctenosaur, in tree, Costa Rica.jpg, Black spiny-tailed iguanas are excellent climbers Manuel Antonio National Park, Costa Rica
Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
File:Black Iguana (3326624432).jpg, A male eating a flower in southern Mexico (16 February 200)
File:Ctenosaura similis (juvenile).jpg, A juvenile from Rincon de la Vieja, Costa Rica (4 August 2009)
File:Black Spiny-tailed Iguana - (Ctenosaura similis) Overseeing Tulum (6262914018).jpg, Black Spiny-tailed Iguana overseeing Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico
References
External links
*
*
West Coast Iguana ResearchBlack Spinytail Iguana, Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1132759
similis
Lizards of Central America
Reptiles of Belize
Reptiles of Colombia
Reptiles of Costa Rica
Reptiles of El Salvador
Reptiles of Guatemala
Reptiles of Honduras
Reptiles of Mexico
Reptiles of Nicaragua
Reptiles of Panama
Lizards of the Caribbean
Reptiles described in 1831
Taxa named by John Edward Gray