The Andros Island iguana or Andros iguana (''Cyclura cychlura cychlura'') is an endangered subspecies of Northern Bahamian rock iguana of the genus ''

Cyclura ''Cyclura'' is a genus of lizards in the family Iguanidae. Member species of this genus are commonly known as "cycluras" or more commonly as rock iguanas and only occur on islands in the West Indies. Rock iguanas have a high degree of endemism, ...

'' that is found on

Andros Island Andros Island is an archipelago within the Bahamas, the largest of the Bahamian Islands. Politically considered a single island, Andros in total has an area greater than all the other 700 Bahamian islands combined. The land area of Andros consis ...

on the western edge of

Grand Bahama Grand Bahama is the northernmost of the islands of the Bahamas, with the town of West End located east of Palm Beach, Florida. It is the third largest island in the Bahamas island chain of approximately 700 islands and 2,400 cays. The island i ...

. Its status is Endangered, with a wild population of 3,500 animals, and it can be found on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

Taxonomy

The Andros Island iguana, ''Cyclura cychlura cychlura'', is endemic to the island of Andros. It is one of three subspecies of the Northern Bahamian rock iguana; the other two subspecies being Allen's Cay iguana (''Cyclura cychlura inornata'') and the Exuma Island iguana (''

Cyclura cychlura figginsi ''Cyclura cychlura figginsi'', known by the common name of guana and sometimes called the Exuma Island iguana in the international literature, is a subspecies of the northern rock iguana, ''C. cychlura'', that is found on the Exuma island chai ...

'').

Anatomy and morphology

The Andros Island iguana is one of the largest species of rock iguana which attains a total length of close to . Its coloration is dark-gray to black, with yellowish green or orange tinged scales on the legs, dorsal crest, and the head. When the animal matures, the yellow coloration changes to a bright reddish orange color in contrast to the animals darker striped body and black feet. This species, like other species of ''Cyclura'', is

sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where the sexes of the same animal and/or plant species exhibit different morphological characteristics, particularly characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most ani ...

; males are larger than females, and have more prominent

dorsal Dorsal (from Latin ''dorsum'' ‘back’) may refer to: * Dorsal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location referring to the back or upper side of an organism or parts of an organism * Dorsal, positioned on top of an aircraft's fuselage * Dorsal c ...

crests as well as larger

femoral pore Femoral pores are a part of a holocrine secretory gland found on the inside of the thighs of certain lizards and amphisbaenians which releases pheromones to attract mates or mark territory. In certain species only the male has these pores and i ...

s on their thighs, which are used to release

pheromones A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

Ecology

Andros Island iguanas are host to a reptile tick, '' Amblyomma dissimile''.

Diet

Like all ''Cyclura'' species, the Andros Island iguana is 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 ...

, consuming leaves, flowers, and fruits from over 100 different plant species. This diet is very rarely supplemented with insect larvae, crabs, slugs, dead birds, rats, and fungi.

Reproduction

Mating occurs from early April to early May, with eggs deposited in nests excavated within termite mounds ('' Nasutitermes rippertii''). This is the only species of iguana known to use termite mounds as a means of incubating its eggs. Females are known to guard their nests until hatching occurs. The newly hatched iguanas disperse away from the nest site for the first two or three weeks. During the first week, the hatchlings are vulnerable to predation by snakes; less than one-third of hatchlings survive their first month.

Conservation

Endangered Status

It is estimated that the current global population is less than 3,500 members and is declining. The population has decreased by at least 50% over the last 60 years.

Causes of decline

Hunting is the main factor threatening imminent extinction for this iguana. It is the only Caribbean species of iguana which is still regularly hunted for food for human consumption. Feral pigs pose a threat to the iguanas, as they dig up eggs from iguana nests within termite mounds. Feral and domestic dogs prey upon juvenile and adult iguanas as well. Feral goats have also been known to compete with the iguanas for food. As with other rock iguanas, their habitat is in rapid decline due to development and logging.

Recovery efforts

Like all Bahamian rock iguanas, this species is protected in the Bahamas under the Wild Animals Protection Act of 1968. However, no areas have been specifically designated for the protection of iguanas on Andros and no specific conservation programs are in place. There are currently no captive breeding programs for this animal.

References

External links

Entry at Cyclura.comConservation Action Plan for the Andros Iguana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cyclura Cychlura Cychlura Cychlura cychlura Endemic fauna of the Bahamas Reptiles of the Bahamas Endangered fauna of North America Taxa named by Georges Cuvier