Ctenosaura
Spinytail iguana in Mexico
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Iguanidae
Genus: Ctenosaura
Wiegmann, 1828
Type species
Ctenosaura acanthura
Ctenosaura similis, Costa Rica

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 (ctenos), meaning "comb" (referring to the comblike spines on the lizard's back and tail), and σαύρα (saura), meaning "lizard".

Description

The species range in size (total length, including the tail) from about 12.5 centimetres (4.9 in) to well over 1 metre (39 in). 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.[1]: p.812 [2]

Captivity

C. pectinata, C. similis, and C. quinquecarinata are popular as pets.

Invasive species

At least two species, Ctenosaura pectinata and Ctenosaura similis, have been introduced into southern areas of Texas and Florida.[3] They are also now in southern Arizona.

Species

The genus Ctenosaura represents the most diverse group of iguanas with 15 currently recognized species and at least two unrecognized species.[4][5] These species inhabit lowland dry forests, woodlands and semi-open habitats, below 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) elevation, on both coasts of Mexico and Central America.[4] The species in the genus Ctenosaura belong in several different clades.[4] Closely related species show allopatry whereas species from divergent clades show sympatry.[4] Until 2017, the two species of Cachryx were included in Ctenosaura.[6]

Image Species Common name Authority Geographic range
Ctenosaura acanthura Mexican spiny-tailed iguana[7] (Shaw, 1802)[8] Eastern Mexico
Ctenosaura bakeri Baker's spinytail iguana Stejneger, 1901[9] Utila island off Honduras
Ctenosaura clarki Michoacan club tail [7] Bailey, 1928[10] Western Mexico
Ctenosaura conspicuosa Isla San Esteban spiny-tailed iguana [7] Dickerson, 1919[11] 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 [7] (Cope, 1863)[12] Southern half of Baja California, Mexico
Ctenosaura macrolopha Sonora spiny-tailed iguana [7] Smith, H. M. 1972[13] Sonora, Mexico
Ctenosaura melanosterna black-chested spinytail iguana Buckley & Axtell, 1997 Honduras
Ctenosaura nolascensis Isla San Pedro Nolasco spiny-tailed iguana [7] Smith, H. M. 1972[13] San Pedro Nolasco Island, Gulf of California
Ctenosaura oaxacana Oaxacan spiny-tail iguana [7] G. Köhler & Hasbún, 2001[14] 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 [7] (Wiegmann, 1834)[15] Western Mexico. Introduced to southern areas of Texas and Florida.
Ctenosaura quinquecarinata club tail iguana Gray, 1842[16] Nicaragua and Costa Rica.
Ctenosaura similis black spiny-tail iguana [7] (Gray, 1831)[17] Mexico and Central America; reported in some Colombian islands, introduced to southern Florida.

References

  1. ↑ Garland, Theodore., Jr. 1984. Physiological correlates of locomotory performance in a lizard: an allometric approach. American Journal of Physiology. 247: 806–815.
  2. ↑ Malfatti, Mark (2007), "A Look at the Genus Ctenosaura: Meet the World's fastest lizard and its kin", Reptiles Magazine, 15 (11): 64–73
  3. ↑ 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). ISBN 978-0-544-12997-9
  4. 1 2 3 4 Buckley, Larry; Pagel, Katelyn; Villela, Oscar (2007). "Evolution of Spiny-tailed Iguanas (Genus Ctenosaura): How Identification of Species Groups and their Relationships Can Help with Conservation Priorities". Iguana: Journal of the International Iguana Society. 14 (4): 248–251.
  5. ↑ "Ctenosaura ". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2 January 2008.
  6. ↑ Malone, C.L.; Reynoso, V.H.; Buckley, L. (2017). "Never judge an iguana by its spines: Systematics of the Yucatan spiny tailed iguana, Ctenosaura defensor (Cope, 1866)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 115: 27–39. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2017.07.010.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 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)
  8. ↑ Shaw, G. 1802. General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History. Vol.3, part 2. G. Kearsley, Thomas Davison, London: 313-615.
  9. ↑ Stejneger, Leonhard 1901. On a new species of spiny-tailed iguana from Utilla Island, Honduras. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 23 (1217): 467-468
  10. ↑ Bailey, J. W. 1928. A revision of the lizards of the genus Ctenosaura. Proc. US Natl. Mus. 73 (2733): 1-55
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ 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
  13. 1 2 Smith,H.M. 1972. The sonoran subspecies of the lizard Ctenosaura hemilopha. Great Basin Naturalist 32 (2): 104-111.
  14. ↑ 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
  15. ↑ 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.
  16. ↑ Gray, J. E. 1842. Description of some new species of Reptiles, chiefly from the British Museum collection. Zoological Miscellany 2: 57-59.
  17. ↑ 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.

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.
  • 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.
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