Cyclura rileyi cristata

Last updated

White Cay iguana
Cyclura rileyi cristata White Cay 1997 c W K Hayes.jpg
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Iguanidae
Genus: Cyclura
Species:
Subspecies:
C. r. cristata
Trinomial name
Cyclura rileyi cristata
(Schmidt, 1920)
Cyclura rileyi cristata range on White Cay Bahamas island.svg

Cyclura rileyi cristata, the White Cay iguana or Sandy Cay rock iguana, is a critically endangered subspecies of lizard of the genus Cyclura native to a single cay in the Bahamas: White Cay (also known as Sandy Cay) located in the Southern Exumas.

Contents

Taxonomy

The White Cay iguana is an endangered subspecies of lizard of the genus Cyclura from the family Iguanidae. First identified by Leonhard Hess Stejneger in 1902, and given subspecific status in 1920 by American herpetologist Karl Patterson Schmidt, they are known commonly in the Bahamas as iguanas. [2] Its specific name, rileyi, is a Latinized form of the name of American biologist, Joseph Harvey Riley. [3]

Description

Measuring up to 280 mm (11 in) in length when full grown, the White Cay iguana is the smallest species of Cyclura. [4] The back of adults is usually a gray-brown to orange-brown color. The dorsal scales, forelimbs, and portions of the head and face are highlighted in bright orange. [4] Immature iguanas lack these bright colors, being either solid brown or grey with faint slightly darker stripes. [5]

Males of this species, like other species within the Genus Cyclura are larger than females and have more prominent dorsal crests in addition to femoral pores on their thighs, which are used to release pheromones; females lack these pores and have shorter crests than the males making the animals sexually dimorphic. [6] [7]

Distribution

Once inhabiting all the large islands of the Bahamas, today they are confined to a single cay: White Cay, also known as Sandy Cay. [5] According to Lincoln-Peterson surveys conducted in 1997, the size of the population has been estimated at 150 to 200 individuals. [5]

Diet

Like all Cyclura species the White Cay iguana is primarily herbivorous, 95% of which from consuming leaves, flowers and fruits from 7 different plant species such as Seaside Rock Shrub ( Rachicallis americana ), and Erect Prickly Pear ( Opuntia stricta ). [8] Its diet is very rarely supplemented with insects.

Mating

Female White Cay Iguanas attain sexual maturity when they reach 20 cm (7.9 in) in length from snout to vent and weigh 300 g (11 oz). Males appear to mature at a slightly larger size, at approximately seven years of age. [5] Mating occurs in May and June, with clutches of 2-3 eggs usually laid in June or July, in nests excavated in pockets of earth exposed to the sun.

Conservation

White Cay iguanas are one of the most threatened species of all the West Indian rock iguanas and are described as critically endangered and a priority species according to the current IUCN Red List. [1] It may be the most endangered species of lizard on earth.

Imported black rats and a feral raccoon have taken their toll on the population by direct predation. [4] [8] The rats have all been eradicated from the island since a program was instituted in 1999 and the raccoon which someone turned loose on the island was also found and destroyed. [5] [8] The raccoon was responsible for killing almost all of the females while they slept in nesting burrows. [5]

Illicit smuggling for the pet trade is another area in which this animal's population has been harmed. [1] In April 1994, photographs of this subspecies appeared in pictures of Florida reptile wholesalers' inventory in a magazine article. [8]

Additionally, the population may be suffering from a skewed sex ratio of 90-95% males out of the 200 animals left, further harming chances of recovery. [4] The species may face a genetic bottleneck in the future due to this ratio and the fact that each female only lays 2-3 eggs per year. [5]

As of August 2007, no legal captive breeding programs exist outside of the Bahamas. [1] The Bahamian government has refused to issue export permits for any rock iguanas. [1] Locals do attempt to keep tourists away from the island and the island is monitored by United States Drug Enforcement Administration aircraft. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Turks and Caicos rock iguana</span> Species of lizard

The Turks and Caicos rock iguana is a species of lizard endemic to the Turks and Caicos islands. This small iguana can reach 30 in (76 cm) and becomes mature at seven years and may live for twenty. A single clutch of up to nine eggs is laid each year, and these take three months to hatch. This iguana is mostly herbivorous, but supplements this by adding some animal matter to its diet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue iguana</span> Species of reptile

The blue iguana, also known as the Grand Cayman ground iguana, Grand Cayman blue iguana or Cayman Island rock iguana, is an endangered species of lizard which is endemic to the island of Grand Cayman. It was previously considered to be a subspecies of the Cuban iguana, Cyclura nubila, but in a 2004 article Frederic J. Burton reclassified it as a separate species because according to him the genetic differences discovered four years earlier between the different C. nubila populations warranted this interpretation. The blue iguana is one of the longest-living species of lizard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mona ground iguana</span> Species of Cyclura closely related to the rhinoceros iguana

The Mona ground iguana is a rock iguana that is endemic to Mona Island, Puerto Rico, and is the largest native terrestrial lizard in Puerto Rico. It was previously considered a subspecies of the rhinoceros iguana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jamaican iguana</span> Species of lizard

The Jamaican iguana, also known commonly as Colley's iguana, is a large species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is endemic to Jamaica. It is critically endangered, even considered extinct between 1948 and 1990. Once found throughout Jamaica and on the offshore islets Great Goat Island and Little Goat Island, it is now confined to the forests of the Hellshire Hills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rhinoceros iguana</span> Species of iguana endemic to the Caribbean

The rhinoceros iguana is an endangered species of iguana that is endemic to the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and its surrounding islands. A large lizard, they vary in length from 60 to 136 centimetres, and skin colours range from a steely grey to a dark green and even brown. Their name derives from the bony-plated pseudo-horn or outgrowth which resembles the horn of a rhinoceros on the iguana's snout. It is known to coexist with the Ricord's iguana ; the two species are the only taxa of rock iguana to do so.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Bahamian rock iguana</span> Species of lizard

The northern Bahamian rock iguana is a species of lizard of the genus Cyclura that is found on Andros Island and the Exuma islands in the Bahamas. Its status on the IUCN Red List is vulnerable, with a wild population of less than 5,000 animals.

<i>Cyclura nubila</i> Species of reptile

The Cuban rock iguana, also known as the Cuban ground iguana or Cuban iguana, is a species of lizard of the iguana family. It is the second largest of the West Indian rock iguanas, one of the most endangered groups of lizards. A herbivorous species with a thick tail and spiked jowls, it is one of the largest lizards in the Caribbean.

<i>Cyclura ricordii</i> Species of iguana endemic to Hispaniola

Cyclura ricordii, also known as Ricord's ground iguana or Ricord's rock iguana, is an endangered species of medium-sized rock iguana, a large herbivorous lizard. It is endemic to the island of Hispaniola. It is known to coexist with the nominate subspecies of the rhinoceros iguana ; the two species are the only taxa of rock iguana to do so. The natural habitats of its three subpopulations are hot, dry, wooded savanna on limestone with access to soil and sandy flats in southern Hispaniola. It is threatened by predation by introduced predators and habitat loss, due to overgrazing and charcoal manufacture.

<i>Cyclura rileyi nuchalis</i> Subspecies of lizard

The Acklins ground iguana, also commonly known as the Watling Island iguana, is an endangered subspecies of lizard of the genus Cyclura it is one of three subspecific forms of Cyclura rileyi in the family Iguanidae.

<i>Cyclura rileyi</i> Species of lizard

Cyclura rileyi, commonly known as the Bahamian rock iguana or the San Salvador rock iguana, is a critically endangered species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is native to three island groups in the Bahamas, and is in decline due to habitat encroachment by human development and predation by feral dogs and cats. There are three subspecies: the Acklins ground iguana, the White Cay iguana, and the nominotypical subspecies.

The Andros Island iguana or Andros iguana is an endangered subspecies of Northern Bahamian rock iguana of the genus Cyclura that is found on Andros Island on the western edge of Grand Bahama. Its status is Endangered, with a wild population of 3,500 animals, and it can be found on the IUCN Red List.

Cyclura carinata bartschi, commonly known as Bartsch's iguana or the Booby Cay iguana, is a subspecies of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The subspecies is endemic to a single cay, Booby Cay, in The Bahamas.

<i>Cyclura nubila caymanensis</i> Subspecies of lizard

Cyclura nubila caymanensis, the Lesser Caymans iguana, Cayman Brac iguana, Cayman Island brown iguana or Sister Isles iguana, is a critically endangered subspecies of the Cuban iguana. It is native to two islands to the south of Cuba: Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are also known as the Sister Isles due to their similar shapes and close proximity to each other. The population of this subspecies has been impacted by habitat encroachment by human development and is likely being destroyed due to predation by cats, the population on Cayman Brac has remained particularly small for decades.

<i>Cyclura cychlura inornata</i> Subspecies of lizard

Cyclura cychlura inornata, the Allen Cays rock iguana or Allen Cays iguana, is a subspecies of the northern Bahamian rock iguana that is found on Allen's Cay and adjacent islands in the Bahamas. Its status in the IUCN Red List is critically endangered. The population has been growing over the last century. Although it was considered extinct in 1916, there are as of 2018 at least 482 mature adult animals counted on two islands, Leaf Cay and U Cay, and a few hundred on at least five other nearby islands where they have recently spread to by unknown means, as well as many juveniles.

<i>Cyclura cychlura figginsi</i> Subspecies of lizard

Cyclura cychlura figginsi, known by the common name of guana and sometimes called the Exuma Island iguana in the international literature, is a subspecies of the northern rock iguana, C. cychlura, that is found on the Exuma island chain in the Bahamas with an estimated wild population of 1,300 animals in 2004, it has been listed on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered.

<i>Cyclura</i> Genus of lizards

Cyclura is a genus of lizards in the family Iguanidae. Member species of this genus are commonly known as "cycluras" or more commonly as rock iguanas and only occur on islands in the West Indies. Rock iguanas have a high degree of endemism, with in most cases a single species or subspecies restricted to an individual island.

<i>Cyclura pinguis</i> Species of reptile

Cyclura pinguis, the Anegada rock iguana, Anegada ground iguana or stout iguana, is a critically endangered species of lizard of the genus Cyclura belonging to the family Iguanidae. The species can be found exclusively in the islands of Anegada and Guana. Historically, it inhabited the islands of Puerto Rico and Saint Thomas; however, the animal's original range has been greatly diminished over prehistory.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hayes, W.K. (1996). "Cyclura rileyi ssp. cristata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1996. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
  2. Hollingsworth, Bradford D. (2004), "The Evolution of Iguanas: An Overview of Relationships and a Checklist of Species", Iguanas: Biology and Conservation, University of California Press, pp. 38–39, ISBN   978-0-520-23854-1
  3. "Riley, Joseph – Biography", Washington Biologists' Field Club; Patuxent Wildlife Research Center
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hayes, William, White Cay iguana:Cyclura rileyi cristata, IUCN Iguana Specialist Group, archived from the original on 28 October 2007, retrieved 21 October 2007
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hayes, William; Carter, Ronald; Cyril, Samuel; Thornton, Benjamin (2004), "Conservation of an Endangered Bahamian Rock Iguana, I", Iguanas: Biology and Conservation, University of California Press, pp. 232–243, ISBN   978-0-520-23854-1
  6. De Vosjoli, Phillipe; David Blair (1992), The Green Iguana Manual , Escondido, California: Advanced Vivarium Systems, ISBN   1-882770-18-8
  7. Martins, Emilia P.; Lacy, Kathryn (2004), "Behavior and Ecology of Rock Iguanas, I: Evidence for an Appeasement Display", Iguanas: Biology and Conservation, University of California Press, pp. 98–108, ISBN   978-0-520-23854-1
  8. 1 2 3 4 Buckner, Sandra (1999), "Cyclura rileyi cristata" (PDF), Iguana Specialist Group Newsletter, International Iguana Foundation, vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 2–4, archived from the original (PDF) on 28 October 2007, retrieved 21 October 2007