Ctenosaura pectinata
Encyclopedia
The Mexican Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura pectinata) is a moderate sized lizard
native to western Mexico
from mid-Sinaloa
to south Oaxaca
, but it has been introduced
to the United States
in the very southern tip of the state of Texas
and in the state of Florida
.
zoologist
Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann
in 1834. The generic
name, Ctenosaura, is derived from two Greek
words: cteno (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
word pectinata also meaning "comb", also referring to the comblike spines on the lizard's back.
The genus it belongs to represents the most diverse group of iguanas with 15 currently recognized species. These species inhabit lowland (below 1200m elevation) dry forests on both coasts of Mexico and Central America
. All species of Ctenosaura fall within one of seven clades
. Distributions of these clades fall geographically within well established areas. Closely related species show allopatry
whereas species from divergent clades show sympatry
.
Phylogenic study shows this species to be most closely related to C. acanthura
, the Northeastern spinytail iguana. Additional mitochondrial DNA
research is being performed to determine whether additional subspecies may exist. Because of the different human cultures throughout this species distribution, the clades are being evaluated for their impact from humans. For example, these iguanas are not eaten in their northern ranges by humans as they are in the southern ranges, but the hatchlings in the southern ranges have a better survival rate due to better environmental conditions.
on their long tail
s, which gives them their common name. They are one of the larger members of the genus Ctenosaura, capable of growing to 140 cm (4.6 feet) in length, with females being slightly smaller than males at 100 cm, and are typically brown
or grey
-brown in coloration with a yellow
ish ventral surface. They have a crest of long spines which extend down the center of their back. Hatchlings are often a bright green color with no pattern and darken as they age.
to Oaxaca
.
This iguana has been introduced to Brownsville, Texas
and South Florida and reproduces in the wild in several feral
populations. On the south-eastern Florida coast, these iguanas have been found on Key Biscayne
, Hialeah
, and in Broward County
. On the south-western Florida coast, it has been reported on Gasparilla Island
. It is currently estimated as of December 2007 that there are 12,000 iguanas on this island, descended from a trio of pet lizards released by a resident in the 1970s.
They are regarded as a "nuisance animal" on Gasparilla island because the iguanas eat ornamental flowers and shrubs and prey on nesting birds and sea turtle
eggs. They have been known to chew through electrical and telephone cables. They may also carry salmonella and their prehistoric appearance has been known to scare residents. As the iguanas like to burrow in the sand it is feared that their tunnels could cause dunes and even seawalls to collapse and deprive the island of crucial protection from landfalling hurricanes.
The Mexican Spiny-tailed iguana is a social lizard, which has adapted to living in groups as opposed to other species of Ctenosaura which tend to be solitary animals. These 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. They are often found dwelling near or in towns in their native Mexico and where they have been introduced elsewhere.
They are primarily herbivorous, eating a variety of flower
s, leaves, stems, and fruit
, but they will opportunistically eat small animals, eggs, and arthropod
s.
in a burrow of loose soil. These eggs hatch in 90 days with the bright green babies digging their way out of the sand.
and it is currently illegal to hunt them in Mexico. This protection does not apply to areas in North America where they have been introduced, however.
Although hunting, trapping, and killing of these iguanas is illegal throughout Mexico; the Balsas depression along the borders of the states Michoacán
and Guerrero is one of the largest illegal hunting and trading areas. The remoteness of the areas and lack of enforcement of the laws is seen as the main reason. A study is being conducted by the Instituto de Biologia, UNAM, to solve the over-exploitation problem and to determine if the iguanas can be successfully farmed as a food source similar to the Green Iguana
and the closely related Ctenosaura similis
.
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
native to western Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
from mid-Sinaloa
Sinaloa
Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
to south Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, but it has been introduced
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in the very southern tip of the state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and in the state of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.
Taxonomy
The Mexican Spinytail Iguana was first described by GermanGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
zoologist
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann
Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann
Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann was a German zoologist. He studied medicine and philology at the University of Leipzig, and afterwards was an assistant to Martin Lichtenstein in Berlin...
in 1834. The generic
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
name, Ctenosaura, is derived from two Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words: cteno (Κτενός), meaning "comb" (referring to the comblike spines on the lizard's back and tail), and saura (σαύρα), meaning "lizard". Its specific
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
name is the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
word pectinata also meaning "comb", also referring to the comblike spines on the lizard's back.
The genus it belongs to represents the most diverse group of iguanas with 15 currently recognized species. These species inhabit lowland (below 1200m elevation) dry forests on both coasts of Mexico and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. All species of Ctenosaura fall within one of seven clades
Cladistics
Cladistics is a method of classifying species of organisms into groups called clades, which consist of an ancestor organism and all its descendants . For example, birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and all descendants of their most recent common ancestor form a clade...
. Distributions of these clades fall geographically within well established areas. Closely related species show allopatry
Allopatric speciation
Allopatric speciation or geographic speciation is speciation that occurs when biological populations of the same species become isolated due to geographical changes such as mountain building or social changes such as emigration...
whereas species from divergent clades show sympatry
Sympatric speciation
Sympatric speciation is the process through which new species evolve from a single ancestral species while inhabiting the same geographic region. In evolutionary biology and biogeography, sympatric and sympatry are terms referring to organisms whose ranges overlap or are even identical, so that...
.
Phylogenic study shows this species to be most closely related to C. acanthura
Ctenosaura acanthura
The Northeastern Spinytail Iguana ' is a lizard in the genus Ctenosaura native to Mexico.- Taxonomy :The Northeastern Spinytail Iguana was first described by British zoologist George Shaw in 1802...
, the Northeastern spinytail iguana. Additional mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
research is being performed to determine whether additional subspecies may exist. Because of the different human cultures throughout this species distribution, the clades are being evaluated for their impact from humans. For example, these iguanas are not eaten in their northern ranges by humans as they are in the southern ranges, but the hatchlings in the southern ranges have a better survival rate due to better environmental conditions.
Description
Mexican Spinytail Iguanas have distinctive keeled scalesScale (zoology)
In most biological nomenclature, a scale is a small rigid plate that grows out of an animal's skin to provide protection. In lepidopteran species, scales are plates on the surface of the insect wing, and provide coloration...
on their long tail
Tail
The tail is the section at the rear end of an animal's body; 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, reptiles, and birds...
s, which gives them their common name. They are one of the larger members of the genus Ctenosaura, capable of growing to 140 cm (4.6 feet) in length, with females being slightly smaller than males at 100 cm, and are typically brown
Brown
Brown is a color term, denoting a range of composite colors produced by a mixture of orange, red, rose, or yellow with black or gray. The term is from Old English brún, in origin for any dusky or dark shade of color....
or grey
Grey
Grey or gray is an achromatic or neutral color.Complementary colors are defined to mix to grey, either additively or subtractively, and many color models place complements opposite each other in a color wheel. To produce grey in RGB displays, the R, G, and B primary light sources are combined in...
-brown in coloration with a yellow
Yellow
Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...
ish ventral surface. They have a crest of long spines which extend down the center of their back. Hatchlings are often a bright green color with no pattern and darken as they age.
Distribution
The Mexican Spinytail Iguana is native to Western Mexico from SinaloaSinaloa
Sinaloa officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sinaloa is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 18 municipalities and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales....
to Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
.
This iguana has been introduced to Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville, Texas
Brownsville is a city in the southernmost tip of the state of Texas, in the United States. It is located on the northern bank of the Rio Grande, directly north and across the border from Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Brownsville is the 16th largest city in the state of Texas with a population of...
and South Florida and reproduces in the wild in several feral
Feral
A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...
populations. On the south-eastern Florida coast, these iguanas have been found on Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne
Key Biscayne is an island located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay. It is the southernmost of the barrier islands along the Atlantic coast of Florida, and lies south of Miami Beach and southeast of Miami...
, Hialeah
Hialeah, Florida
Hialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2009, the population estimate by the U. S...
, and in Broward County
Broward County, Florida
-2000 Census:As of the census of 2000, there were 1,623,018 people, 654,445 households, and 411,645 families residing in the county. The population density was 1,346 people per square mile . There were 741,043 housing units at an average density of 615 per square mile...
. On the south-western Florida coast, it has been reported on Gasparilla Island
Gasparilla Island
Gasparilla Island is a barrier island in southwest Florida, United States, straddling the border of Charlotte and Lee Counties. Its largest town is Boca Grande, and it is the location of the Gasparilla Island State Park...
. It is currently estimated as of December 2007 that there are 12,000 iguanas on this island, descended from a trio of pet lizards released by a resident in the 1970s.
They are regarded as a "nuisance animal" on Gasparilla island because the iguanas eat ornamental flowers and shrubs and prey on nesting birds and sea turtle
Sea turtle
Sea turtles are marine reptiles that inhabit all of the world's oceans except the Arctic.-Distribution:...
eggs. They have been known to chew through electrical and telephone cables. They may also carry salmonella and their prehistoric appearance has been known to scare residents. As the iguanas like to burrow in the sand it is feared that their tunnels could cause dunes and even seawalls to collapse and deprive the island of crucial protection from landfalling hurricanes.
Behavior
Diurnal animal
Diurnality is a plant or animal behavior characterized by activity during the day and sleeping at night.-In animals:Animals that are not diurnal might be nocturnal or crepuscular . Many animal species are diurnal, including many mammals, insects, reptiles and birds...
and fast moving, employing their speed to escape predators but will lash with their tails and bite if cornered. They are often found dwelling near or in towns in their native Mexico and where they have been introduced elsewhere.
They are primarily herbivorous, eating a variety of flower
Flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...
s, leaves, stems, and fruit
Fruit
In broad terms, a fruit is a structure of a plant that contains its seeds.The term has different meanings dependent on context. In non-technical usage, such as food preparation, fruit normally means the fleshy seed-associated structures of certain plants that are sweet and edible in the raw state,...
, but they will opportunistically eat small animals, eggs, and arthropod
Arthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s.
Reproduction
Mating occurs in the spring. Males show dominance and interest by head bobbing, eventually chasing 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 50 eggsEgg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
in a burrow of loose soil. These eggs hatch in 90 days with the bright green babies digging their way out of the sand.
Threatened status
Ctenosaura pectinata is used as a traditional food source in its native Mexico. Although not listed on the IUCN Redlist, the species is listed on the Mexican Red List NOM-059-2001 as threatenedThreatened species
Threatened species are any speciesg animals, plants, fungi, etc.) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future.The World Conservation Union is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories,...
and it is currently illegal to hunt them in Mexico. This protection does not apply to areas in North America where they have been introduced, however.
Although hunting, trapping, and killing of these iguanas is illegal throughout Mexico; the Balsas depression along the borders of the states Michoacán
Michoacán
Michoacán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 113 municipalities and its capital city is Morelia...
and Guerrero is one of the largest illegal hunting and trading areas. The remoteness of the areas and lack of enforcement of the laws is seen as the main reason. A study is being conducted by the Instituto de Biologia, UNAM, to solve the over-exploitation problem and to determine if the iguanas can be successfully farmed as a food source similar to the Green Iguana
Green Iguana
The Green Iguana or Common Iguana is a large, arboreal herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana native to Central and South America...
and the closely related Ctenosaura similis
Ctenosaura similis
The Black Spiny-tailed Iguana, Black Iguana, or Black Ctenosaur is a lizard native to Mexico and Central America that has been introduced to the United States in the state of Florida...
.