Common black iguana
| Common black iguana | ||||||||||||
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Male animal and two females |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ctenosaura similis | ||||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1831) |
The Common ctenosaura ( Ctenosaura similis ) is a lizard from the family of iguanas (Iguanidae). It occurs in Central America from southern Mexico to Panama and on the Colombian Caribbean islands of Providencia and San Andrés .
features
The common black iguana is a relatively large species of iguana, males reach a body length of 1.3 meters and a weight of 2 kilograms, the smaller females about 87 centimeters in length and one kilogram in weight. The tail length is medium, it reaches about 60 to 67 percent of the total body length (in adults).
The tail is cylindrical in outline or slightly flattened dorsoventrally (from top to bottom), it has conspicuous whorls of protruding thorns, which makes the species easy to distinguish from most related species. The first ten thorn whorls are set apart from one another by one or two rows of small smooth scales in between, which - rarely - can be missing.
A crest of enlarged scales along the midline of the trunk is most pronounced in adult males. Adult animals of both sexes are gray, yellowish or light brown in color, the upper side is marked by four to six indistinct, dark transverse bands that are separated from each other at least along the center line by yellow or whitish spaces; the dark bands can be split by light strips between them.
The limbs have similarly dark transverse ligaments, sometimes additional red or yellow points and spots, and the tail is also banded light and dark. In old animals, this drawing can become indistinct, especially on the front body; sometimes the entire front body is then colored black. Young animals, on the other hand, are usually bright green in color - they can also be light brown with dark net markings when they hatch, but then soon turn green.
The sometimes similar green iguana ( Iguana iguana ) can be distinguished by the enlarged scales in the area of the eardrum that are striking in this species. The five-keeled black iguana ( Ctenosaura quinquecarinata ) has a tail that is clearly flattened, especially in the front section (proximal). In the West Mexican black iguana ( Ctenosaura pectinata ), the thorn whorls of the tail are separated by three smooth rows of scales, and the dark transverse bands are missing in the adults.
Way of life
Adult common black iguanas live high in the trees in sparse forests and on overgrown rocky slopes. They like to go to hot places to sunbathe. Some animals also live in human habitats. Once the common black iguana has found a suitable location, it seldom strays far from it in adulthood. Young animals are ground dwellers. Their diet consists of fruits, insects, crabs, small mammals as well as smaller birds and their eggs. Older, large animals are almost exclusively vegetarian. Common black iguanas can live to be over 60 years.
Reproduction
The common black iguana reaches sexual maturity after 3 to 4 years. The male bites the female while mating in order to fixate it. The act of reproduction only takes a few minutes. After around 40 days, the female digs a half-meter-long passage in which it lays 2 to 25 eggs. The young hatch after 3 to 4 months.
Enemies
Natural predators include snakes , raccoons , skunks and birds of prey . Not fully grown animals are eaten by various types of lizards and rarely also by domestic cats. In addition, the animals were and are hunted by humans. The meat is said to have a potency-increasing effect, the eggs are a delicacy. Nevertheless, the common black iguana is not considered threatened in its areas of origin. The IUC classifies it as “not at risk” ( least concern ).
Subspecies
Two subspecies have been described:
- Ctenosaura similis similis ( Gray 1831) and
- Ctenosaura similis multipunctata Barbour & Shreve 1934
literature
- Manfred Rogner : Lizards. Volume 1: geckos, pinnipeds, agamas, chameleons and iguanas. Ulmer, Stuttgart 1992, ISBN 3-8001-7248-8 .
- Gunther Köhler, Bruno Streit : Notes on the systematic status of the taxa acanthura, pectinata, and similis of the genus Ctenosaura. In: Senckenbergiana biologica . Vol. 75, No. 1/2, 1996, ISSN 0037-2102 , pp. 33-43.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jay M. Savage: The Amphibians and Reptiles of Costa Rica. University of Chicago Press, 2002. ISBN 978-0-226-73537-5
- ^ John Wendell Bailey (1928): A revision of the lizards of the genus Ctenosaura. Proceedings of the US National Museum 73: 1-55.
- ↑ Kenneth L. Krysko, F. Wayne King, Kevin M. Enge, Anthony T. Reppas (2003): Distribution of the introduced Black Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis) on the southwestern coast of Florida. Florida Scientist. Vol. 66, No. 2: 74-79.
- ↑ Animaldiversity: Ctenosaura similis (Black Iguana) . Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- ↑ WAZA: Spiny tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura similis) . Retrieved May 21, 2015.
- ↑ Latin America Journal: Animal of the Month June 2014: The Black Iguana ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved May 21, 2015.
Web links
- Ctenosaura similis in The Reptile Database
- Ctenosaura similis inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Posted by: Pasachnik, S. & McCranie, JR, 2010. Retrieved January 31, 2014.
- Iguanas of Mexico, Black Spiny Tailed Ctenosaura Similis - Video showing the behavior of the common black iguanas