Ctenosaura melanosterna

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Ctenosaura melanosterna
Honduran spinytailed iguana.jpg
Black-chested spiny-tailed iguana
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Iguanidae
Genus: Ctenosaura
Species:
C. melanosterna
Binomial name
Ctenosaura melanosterna
Buckley & Axtell, 1997
Ctenosaura melanosterna distribution.png

Ctenosaura melanosterna, commonly known as the black-chested spiny-tailed iguana or Honduran spinytailed iguana, is a species of iguana in the genus Ctenosaura. It is considered endangered. [3]

General Background

Currently, the population trend of the Ctenosaura melanosterna is decreasing, with approximately 2,500-5,000 mature adults left. [3] The overall total number of this species is unknown, but what we do know is that the mature population is decreasing and severely fragmented. [3] This species has two range areas, Aguán Valley and Cayos Cochinos, with more of the subpopulation inhabiting the Valle de Aguán, but the density of the iguanas are so low that they are considered rare. [3] The mainland where the Ctenosaura melanosterna are primarily located, Valle de Aguán, are rapidly decreasing due to exploitation and habitat destruction. [3]

Life Span and Size

The typical life span of the Ctenosaura melanosterna, given the individual is healthy and dies from natural causes, is approximately 8 years. [3] According to the International Iguana Foundation, male black-chested spiny-tailed iguanas in Cayos Cochinos average anywhere from 9.5-12.5 inches and weigh anywhere from 1.3-3.1 pounds. [4] In the Valle de Aguán, males are approximatley 2 inches shorter and usually weight around half the weight than individuals in Cayos Cochinos. [4]

Geographic range

The black-chested spiny-tailed iguana is endemic to Honduras. It is only found in the Valle de Aguán in northern Honduras, and on the Cayos Cochinos archipelago off the Caribbean coast, mainly on the islands Cayo Mayor and Cayo Pequeño. [3]

Habitat

The natural habitat of the black-chested spiny-tailed iguana is the scrubland and the dry forest. In the Valle de Aguán, the iguanas can be found inside forests mainly consisting of Acacia and cacti. However, in the Cayos Cochinos archipelago, the iguanas are usually found in open forest and on cliffs.

Diet

The iguanas are able to prey on smaller animals living in its habitat, such as arthropods, lizards, and fledglings. They are known to eat plant matter as well, such fruit and flowers.

Reproduction

Female black-chested spiny-tailed iguanas are oviparous animals, which mean that they reproduce by laying eggs. [5]

Threats

There are a few reasons as to why the black-chested spiny-tailed iguana is endangered, but the most significant reason is human activity. [3] Threats from humans include from hunting, trading, and habitat destruction and fragmentation. [3] [6] The forests in which the iguanas live are being cleared, mainly for agricultural purposes. [3] The iguanas and their eggs are poached for human consumption as well. [7] In addition, the Green iguana is also much more numerous throughout Central America, making it a competitor for food and resources.

Conservation Efforts

According to the IUCN, there is no actionary recovery plan, but there are efforts to provide a research and breeding station in the mainland on Honduras. [3] Efforts to prevent further threats by illegal trade and over-harvesting to these iguana was to list them in CITES, which is the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iguanidae</span> Family of lizards

The Iguanidae is a family of lizards composed of the iguanas, chuckwallas, and their prehistoric relatives, including the widespread green iguana.

<i>Ctenosaura</i> Genus of lizards

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", and σαύρα, meaning "lizard".

<i>Ctenosaura pectinata</i> Species of lizard

Ctenosaura pectinata is a species of moderately large lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is native to western Mexico.

<i>Ctenosaura bakeri</i> Species of lizard

Ctenosaura bakeri, also known as the Utila spiny-tailed iguana, Baker's spinytail iguana, swamper or wishiwilly del suampo, is a critically endangered species of spinytail iguana endemic to the island of Utila, one of the Islas de la Bahía off the coast of Honduras in the Caribbean.

The Campeche spiny-tailed iguana is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is native to southeastern Mexico and adjacent Guatemala.

Ctenosaura clarki, commonly known as the Balsas armed lizard, Balsas spiny-tailed iguana, Michoacán dwarf spiny-tailed iguana, or nopiche, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species native to Mexico.

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

The Yucatán spiny-tailed iguana is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It is endemic to northern Yucatán, Mexico.

Ctenosaura flavidorsalis, commonly known as the yellow-backed spiny-tailed iguana, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae.

<i>Ctenosaura oaxacana</i> Species of lizard

Ctenosaura oaxacana, commonly known as the Oaxacan spiny-tailed iguana, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It is endemic to Mexico.

<i>Ctenosaura oedirhina</i> Species of lizard

Ctenosaura oedirhina, commonly known as the Roatán spiny-tailed iguana or de Queiroz's spiny-tailed iguana, is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It is endemic to Honduras, on the island of Roatán in the Caribbean, to which one of its common names refers. The Roatán iguana is a medium sized iguana with a rounded snout, short crest scales, and a snout-vent length ranging from 151 to 325mm.

<i>Ctenosaura palearis</i> Species of lizard

Ctenosaura palearis, commonly known as the Motagua spiny-tailed iguana, is a species of spiny-tailed iguana endemic to the Motagua Valley in Guatemala.

<i>Ctenosaura quinquecarinata</i> Species of lizard

Ctenosaura quinquecarinata, commonly known as the Oaxacan spinytail iguana or the five-keeled spiny-tailed iguana is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae native to Central America.

<i>Ctenosaura similis</i> Black iguana, native to central America

Ctenosaura similis, commonly known as the black iguana or black spiny-tailed iguana, is an iguanid lizard native to Mexico and Central America. It has been reported in some Colombian islands in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, and has been introduced to the United States in the state of Florida. The largest species in the genus Ctenosaura, it is commonly found in areas such as grasslands and forests.

<i>Ctenosaura hemilopha</i> Species of lizard

Ctenosaura hemilopha, also known as the Baja California spiny-tailed iguana, is a species of spinytail iguana endemic to Baja California. It is arboreal and primarily herbivorous, although it can be an opportunistic carnivore. Males may grow up to 100 centimeters (39 in) in length, while females are smaller, with a length of up to 70 centimeters (28 in). Five subspecies are currently recognized.

<i>Ctenosaura acanthura</i> Species of reptile in Mexico

Ctenosaura acanthura, is a species of iguanid lizard found in eastern Mexico and extreme western Guatemala. The standardized English name is the Mexican spiny-tailed iguana. Confusingly however, an earlier edition of standardized names for Mexican herpetofauna called Ctenosaura acanthura the northeastern spinytailed iguana and applied the name Mexican spinytailed iguana to Ctenosaura pectinata, which was called the western spiny-tailed iguana in the second edition. It has also been referred to as the Veracruz spiny-tailed iguana and Gulf Coast spiny-tailed iguana. It is an egg laying species that is mostly herbivorous and a moderately large lizard commonly growing over one meter in total length.

<i>Heloderma charlesbogerti</i> Species of reptile

The Guatemalan beaded lizard, also called commonly the Motagua Valley beaded lizard, is a highly endangered species of beaded lizard, a venomous lizard in the family Helodermatidae. The species is endemic to the dry forests of the Motagua Valley in southeastern Guatemala, an ecoregion known as the Motagua Valley thornscrub. It is the only allopatric beaded lizard species, separated from the nearest population by 250 km (160 mi) of unsuitable habitat. The Guatemalan beaded lizard is the rarest and most endangered species of beaded lizard, and it is believed that fewer than 200 individuals of this animal exist in the wild, making it one of the most endangered lizards in the world. In 2007, it was transferred from Appendix II to Appendix I of CITES due to its critical conservation status.

References

  1. Pasachnik, S.; Montgomery, C.E.; Henningheim, E. (2012). "Ctenosaura melanosterna". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2012: e.T44189A14857036. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012-1.RLTS.T44189A14857036.en . Retrieved 16 November 2021.
  2. "Appendices". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Ctenosaura melanosterna". IUCN. February 19, 2024.
  4. 1 2 "CTENOSAURA MELANOSTERNA Black-chested Spiny-tailed Iguana".
  5. "Ctenosaura melanosterna". The Reptile Database. Retrieved 2024-04-29.
  6. Pasachnik, Stesha A.; Montgomery, Chad E.; Ruyle, Leslie E.; Corneal, Jeffrey P.; Antunez, Edoardo E. (31 December 2012). "Morphological and Demographic Analyses of the Blackchested Spiney-tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura melanosterna, Across Their Range: Implications for Population Level Management". Herpetogical Biology and Conservation. 7 (3): 399–406.
  7. Montgomery, Chad E., S. A. Pasaschnik, L. E. Ruyle, J. A. Frazier, and S. E. W. Green. 2014. Natural History of the Black-Chested Spiny-Tailed Iguanas, Ctenosaura melanosterna (Igunaidae), on Cayo Cochino Menor, Honduras. The Southwestern Naturalist 59:280–285.

Further reading