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: κτενός (), meaning "comb" (referring to the comblike spines on the lizard's back and tail), and σαύρα (), meaning "lizard".
Description
The
species range in size (total length, including the tail) from about to well over . The distinctive feature of this
genus is the presence of enlarged, spiny scales on the tail.
Ecology and natural history
Ctenosaurs are generally
omnivorous, feeding on fruits, flowers, foliage, and small animals.
While studying physiological correlates of locomotion in lizards, a "burst speed" of 34.6 km/h (21.5 miles/h) was recorded by a black spiny-tail iguana ( Ctenosaura similis), which is the highest speed reported for a lizard.[Garland, Theodore., Jr. 1984. Physiological correlates of locomotory performance in a lizard: an allometric approach. American Journal of Physiology. 247: 806–815.][
]
Captivity
C. pectinata,
C. similis, and
C. quinquecarinata are popular as
.
Invasive species
At least two species,
Ctenosaura pectinata and
Ctenosaura similis, have been introduced into southern areas of
Texas and
Florida.
[Robert Powell, Roger Conant, Joseph T. Collins (2016). Peterson Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians of Eastern and Central North America, Fourth Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Co. xiv + 494 pp. (see page 284). ] They are also now in southern
Arizona.
Species
The
genus Ctenosaura represents the most diverse group of
iguanidae with 15 currently recognized
species and at least two unrecognized
species.
These
species inhabit lowland dry forests, woodlands and semi-open habitats, below elevation, on both coasts of Mexico and Central America.
The species in the genus
Ctenosaura belong in several different
.
Closely related species show
allopatry whereas species from divergent clades show
sympatry.
Until 2017, the two species of
Cachryx were included in
Ctenosaura.
|
| | Ctenosaura acanthura | Mexican spiny-tailed iguana[Liner, E. A. and G. Casas-Andreu. 2008. Standard Spanish, English and scientific names of the amphibians and reptiles of Mexico Society for the Study Amphibians and Reptiles. Herpetological Circular 38: i-iv, 1-162. (pages 58-59)] | (Shaw, 1802)[Shaw, G. 1802. General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History. Vol.3, part 2. G. Kearsley, Thomas Davison, London: 313-615.] | Eastern Mexico |
| | Ctenosaura bakeri | Baker's spinytail iguana | Stejneger, 1901[Stejneger, Leonhard 1901. On a new species of spiny-tailed iguana from Utilla Island, Honduras. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 23 (1217): 467-468] | Utila island off Honduras |
| | Ctenosaura clarki | Michoacan club tail | Bailey, 1928[Bailey, J. W. 1928. A revision of the lizards of the genus Ctenosaura. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 73 (2733): 1-55] | Western Mexico |
| | Ctenosaura conspicuosa | Isla San Esteban spiny-tailed iguana | Dickerson, 1919[Dickerson, M. C. 1919. Diagnoses of Twenty-Three New Species and a New Genus of Lizards from Lower California. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 41 (10): 461-477.] | San Esteban Island, Gulf of California |
| | Ctenosaura flavidorsalis | Yellowback spinytail iguana | G. Köhler & Klemmer, 1994 | Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala |
| | Ctenosaura hemilopha | Cape spiny-tail iguana | (Cope, 1863)[Cope, E.D. 1863. Descriptions of new American Squamata in the Museum of the Smtihsonian Institution. Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia 15 1863: 100-106] | Southern half of Baja California, Mexico |
| | Ctenosaura macrolopha | Sonora spiny-tailed iguana | Smith, H. M. 1972[Smith, H.M. 1972. The sonoran subspecies of the lizard Ctenosaura hemilopha. Great Basin Naturalist 32 (2): 104-111.] | Sonora, Mexico |
| | Ctenosaura melanosterna | Black-chested spinytail iguana | Buckley & Axtell, 1997 | Honduras |
| | Ctenosaura nolascensis | Isla San Pedro Nolasco spiny-tailed iguana | Smith, H. M. 1972 | San Pedro Nolasco Island, Gulf of California |
| | Ctenosaura oaxacana | Oaxacan spiny-tail iguana | G. Köhler & Hasbún, 2001[Köhler, G. & C.R. Hasbun 2001. A new species of spiny-tailed iguana from Mexico formerly referred to Ctenosaura quinquecarinata (Gray 1842) (Reptilia, Squamata, Iguanidae). Senckenbergiana biologica 81: 257-267] | Oaxaca, Mexico |
| | Ctenosaura oedirhina | Roatán spinytail iguana | de Queiroz, 1987 | Roatán, Honduras |
| | Ctenosaura palearis | Guatemalan spinytail iguana | Stejneger, 1899 | Guatemala |
| | Ctenosaura pectinata | Western spiny-tail iguana | (Wiegmann, 1834)[Wiegmann, A.F.A. 1834. Herpetologia Mexicana, seu descriptio amphibiorum novae hispaniae, quae itineribus comitis de Sack, Ferdinandi Deppe et Chr. Guil. Schiede im Museum Zoologicum Berolinense Pervenerunt. Pars prima, saurorum species. Berlin, Lüderitz, iv + 54 pp.] | Western Mexico. Introduced to southern areas of Texas and Florida. |
| | Ctenosaura quinquecarinata | Club tail iguana | Gray, 1842[Gray, J. E. 1842. Description of some new species of Reptiles, chiefly from the British Museum collection. Zoological Miscellany 2: 57-59.] | Nicaragua and Costa Rica. |
| | Ctenosaura similis | Black spiny-tail iguana | (Gray, 1831)[Gray, J. E. 1831 1830. A synopsis of the species of Class Reptilia. In: Griffith, E & E. Pidgeon: The animal kingdom arranged in conformity with its organisation by the Baron Cuvier with additional descriptions of all the species hither named, and of many before noticed. V Whittaker, Treacher and Co., London: 481 + 110 pp.] | Mexico and Central America; reported in some Colombian islands, introduced to southern Florida. |
|
Further reading
-
Frost DR, Etheridge RE (1989). "A Phylogenetic Analysis and Taxonomy of Iguanian Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata)". Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. Misc. Publ. 81.
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Frost DR, Etheridge R, Janies D, Titus TA (2001). "Total evidence, sequence alignment, evolution of Polychrotid lizards, and a reclassification of the Iguania (Squamata: Iguania)". American Museum Novitates (3343): 1-38.
External links
