This species of iguana is one of the smallest of the subspecies of rock iguanas, usually reaching lengths of about 1 meter. It ranges from dark gray to black with white or orange tinged scales around the head and snout (depending which cay the iguana comes from). These iguanas are not territorial and can be seen basking in large groups. They consume leaves, flowers, and berries, which explains why they were so excited to be fed grapes by us!
These iguanas bring tourism to the islands of the Bahamas; however, this tourism is what is destroying their habitat and causing population decline. The species is protected by the Wild Animals (Protection) Act of 1968 nationally across the Bahamas.
Overall, these terrestrial iguanas are just too cute to resist and so funny as they sprint away (which we just recently learned about in class in terms of moving quickly from side to side and holding their breath!). You can tell from the video how these iguanas are used to human visits and interactions.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/6035/0
2 comments:
This is a very unique post for this blog in particular as we mainly focus on South Carolina species. Looking at these animals and their day to day life I worry that their diets might be thrown off from all the tourists feeding them excessive amounts of certain foods compared to their diet if left alone. I also wonder if these iguanas have ever been thought of as a pest like snakes and if they round up and exterminate them ever as we just learned about the roundups they do in certain parts of our country. I also wonder if there is a pet trade for these iguanas on or off the island that could contribute to their at endangered status.
Also Michelle we have talked a bit about adaptations to predators in class- one being tail autotomy and Iguanas do employ this defense mechanism. I'm wondering if you saw any with detached tails? Thanks for sharing.
Very interesting! What is the conservation status of this species?
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