Cyclura nubila

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Cyclura nubila
Cuban rock iguana
Cyclura nubila
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Order: Squamata
Family: Iguanidae
Genus: Cyclura
Species: C. nubila
Binomial name
Cyclura nubila
(Gray, 1831)
Subspecies
Cyclura nubila caymanensis
Cyclura nubila nubila
Cyclura nubila, also known as the Cuban rock iguana, Cuban ground iguana, or Cuban iguana, is a species of
lizard of the iguana family. It is the largest of the West Indian rock iguanas (genus Cyclura), one of the most
endangered groups of lizards. This herbivorous species with red eyes, a thick tail, and spiked jowls is one of the
largest lizards in the Caribbean.
The Cuban iguana is distributed throughout the rocky southern coastal areas of mainland Cuba and its surrounding
islets with a feral population thriving on Isla Magueyes, Puerto Rico. It is also found on the Cayman Islands of Little
Cayman and Cayman Brac, where a separate subspecies occurs. Females guard their nest sites and often nest in sites
excavated by Cuban crocodiles. As a defense measure, the Cuban iguana often makes its home within or near
prickly-pear cacti.
Although the wild population is in decline because of predation by feral animals and habitat loss caused by human
agricultural development, the numbers of iguanas have been bolstered as a result of captive-breeding and other
Cyclura nubila
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conservation programs. Cyclura nubila has been used to study evolution and animal communication, and its
captive-breeding program has been a model for other endangered lizards in the Caribbean.
Taxonomy
In the st nad Labem Zoo
The Cuban rock iguana's generic name Cyclura is
derived from the Ancient Greek cyclos()
meaning "circular" and our() meaning "tail",
after the thick-ringed tail characteristic of all Cyclura.
John Edward Gray, the British zoologist who first
described the species in 1831 as Iguana (Cyclura)
nubila or "Clouded Guana", gave it the specific name
nubila, Latin for "cloudy".
The closest relatives of Cyclura nubila are the Grand
Cayman blue iguana (Cyclura lewisi) and the Northern
Bahamian rock iguana (Cyclura cychlura);
phylogenetic analysis indicates that these three species
diverged from a common ancestor three million years
ago.
Cyclura nubila was previously considered to have three subspecies, the Grand Cayman blue iguana (termed Cyclura
nubila lewisi), the Lesser Caymans iguana (Cyclura nubila caymanensis), and the nominate Cuban subspecies
(Cyclura nubila nubila). This classification was revised after later mitochondrial DNA analysis and research into the
scalation patterns on the heads of Caribbean iguanid lizards (these patterns are unique by species and act as a
"fingerprint" of sorts). The Grand Cayman blue iguana is now recognized as a separate species.
a
Anatomy and morphology
In Prague Zoo
The Cuban iguana is a large lizard, with an average
body length of 40 centimeters (16in) from snout to
vent (the base of the tail). On rare occasions, individual
males with lengths of 1.6 meters (5.2ft) when
measured from the snout to the tip of the tail have been
recorded at the wildlife sanctuary within the
Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (GTMO), Cuba with
females being two thirds that size. The species is
sexually dimorphic: males are much larger than
females, and males have enlarged femoral pores on
their thighs, which are used to release pheromones to
attract mates and mark territory. The skin of male
Cuban iguanas ranges in color from dark gray to brick
red, whereas that of females is olive green with dark
stripes or bands. In both sexes, limbs are black with
pale brown oval spots and solid black feet. Young animals tend to be dark brown or green with faint darker striping
or mottling in five to ten diagonal transverse bands on the body. These bands blend in with the body color as the
iguana ages. Both sexes possess a dewlap (skin hanging below the neck) and a row of spines running down their
Cyclura nubila
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back to their thick tail. Their heads and necks are short and stout, their teeth are solid and broad, and they have
powerful jaw muscles. Their jowls, which grow larger as the animal ages, are covered in spiky protuberances called
tubercles.
The Cuban iguana's eyes have a golden iris and red sclera. Cuban iguanas have excellent vision and the ability to
detect shapes and movement at long distances. Sensory cells called "double cones" give them sharp color vision and
enable them to see ultraviolet wavelengths. By seeking out locations with more ultraviolet sunlight to bask in, the
Cuban iguana optimizes vitamin D production. Cuban iguanas have poor low-light vision, because they have few
rods or photoreceptor cells. Like other iguanids, Cuban iguanas have a white photosensory organ on the top of their
heads, called the parietal eye. This "eye" has only a rudimentary retina and lens and cannot form images, but it is
sensitive to changes in light and can detect movement.
Diet
Like all Cyclura species, the Cuban iguana is primarily herbivorous; 95% of its diet consists of the leaves, flowers
and fruits from as many as 30 plant species, including the seaside rock shrub (Rachicallis americana), thistle, prickly
pear (Opuntia stricta), black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), olives, and
various grasses. Aiding in the digestion of this high-cellulose diet, colonies of nematodes occupy 50% of the
contents of Cuban iguanas' large intestines. Cuban iguanas occasionally consume animal matter, and individuals
have been observed scavenging the corpses of birds, fish and crabs. Researchers on Isla Magueyes observed a single
episode of cannibalism in 2006 when an adult female iguana chased, caught, and ate a hatchling. The researchers
wrote that the dense population on Isla Magueyes could have caused this incident.
Like other herbivorous lizards, the Cuban iguana is presented with a problem for osmoregulation: plant matter
contains more potassium and has less nutritional content per gram than meat so more must be eaten to meet the
lizard's metabolic needs. Unlike those of mammals, reptile kidneys cannot concentrate urine to save on water intake.
Instead, reptiles excrete toxic nitrogenous wastes as solid uric acid through their cloaca. In the case of the Cuban
iguana, which consumes large amounts of vegetation, these excess salt ions are excreted through the salt gland in the
same manner as in birds.
Mating and behavior
Cuban iguanas reach sexual maturity at an age of two to three years. Males are gregarious when immature, but
become more aggressive as they age, vigorously defending territories in competition for females. Females are more
tolerant of each other, except after laying their eggs.
Mating occurs in May and June, and females lay single clutches of three to 30 eggs in June or July. According to
field research, females deposit their eggs at the same nesting sites each year. The nests are built near each other as
suitable nesting sites are becoming rare. On Cuba's Isla de la Juventud, Cuban iguanas nest in pockets of earth
exposed to the sun by Cuban crocodiles, after the crocodiles' eggs have hatched. These nests are separate from where
adult iguanas live. In areas without crocodiles, the iguanas excavate nests in sandy beaches. At the San Diego Zoo, a
female built a nest at the end of a long chamber she excavated in the sand. She stood near it for weeks, defending it
by shaking her head and hissing at anyone who approached; this behavior demonstrated that Cuban iguanas guard
their nest sites. The hatchlings spend several days to two weeks in the nest chamber from the time they hatch to the
time they emerge from the nests; dispersing individually after emergence.
Although Cuban iguanas typically remain still for long periods of time and have a slow lumbering gait due to their
body mass, they are capable of quick bursts of speed for short distances. Younger animals are more arboreal and will
seek refuge in trees, which they can climb with great agility. The animal is a capable swimmer and will take to
nearby water if threatened. When cornered they can bite and lash their tails in defense.
Cyclura nubila
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Distribution and habitat
Map of Cuba
The Cuban iguana is naturally
distributed in rocky coastal areas on
Cuba and throughout as many as 4,000
islets surrounding the Cuban mainland,
including Isla de la Juventud off the
southern coast, which has one of the
most robust populations. Relatively
safe populations are found on some
islets along the north and south coasts
and in isolated protected areas on the
mainland. These include
Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve in
the west, Desembarco del Granma
National Park, Hatibonico Wildlife Refuge, Punta Negra-Quemados Ecological Reserve, and Delta del Cauto
Wildlife Refuge, all in eastern Cuba. Because of this wide distribution, accurate information about the number of
distinct subpopulations of Cuban iguanas cannot be determined. The population on the US Naval Base at
Guantnamo Bay has been estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 individuals, and the animals are treated well and protected by
US forces stationed at the base. An unusual incident occurred when a detainee in the prison assaulted a guard with a
bloody tail torn from a Cuban iguana in May 2005.
The subspecies, Cyclura nubila caymanensis, is endemic to the "Sister Islands" of Little Cayman and Cayman Brac.
The population on Cayman Brac is less than 50 of these animals and Little Cayman supports 1,500. A feral
population of C. n. caymanensis has been established on Grand Cayman.
The Cuban iguana makes its burrow near cacti or thistles, sometimes even within the cactus itself. These thorny
plants offer protection and their fruit and flowers offer the iguanas food. In areas without cacti, the lizards make their
burrows in dead trees, hollow logs, and limestone crevices.
In the mid-1960s a small group of Cuban iguanas was released from a zoo on Isla Magueyes, southwest of Puerto
Rico, forming an independent free-ranging feral population. As of 2000, there has been talk of removing or
relocating this population of iguanas by the US Department of Interior. This feral population is the source for 90% of
the captive Cuban iguanas held in private collections and was the source for part of a study on animal
communication and evolution conducted by Emilia Martins, a biologist at Indiana University.
Martins' study compared the head-bob displays from the source population on Cuba with these animals on Isla
Magueyes. The durations and pauses were longer by as much as 350% in the feral population. In comparison, the
blue iguana of Grand Cayman's head-bob displays differed from those of the animals on Cuba by only about 20%.
The rapid change in display structure between the colony of animals on Isla Magueyes and those on Cuba illustrated
the potential of small founding population size as a catalyst to evolution with regard to communication or display. In
this case the difference was by only six generations at most.
Cyclura nubila
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Conservation
In the wild
The Cuban iguana is well-established in public and
private collections. Many zoological parks and private
individuals keep them in captive breeding programs,
minimizing the demand for wild-caught specimens for
the pet trade. Cuban iguanas are listed as "vulnerable"
on the IUCN Red List, as is the predominant Cuban
subspecies, while the Cayman Island subspecies is
"critically endangered". The total population in Cuba is
estimated at between 40,000 and 60,000 individuals,
and the feral population on Isla Magueyes is estimated
at over 1,000. According to Allison Alberts, Chief
Conservation Officer of the San Diego Zoo and lead
researcher in Cuba, among the many wildlife species at
GTMO, "The Cuban Iguana is one of the largest, undoubtedly the most visible, and certainly the most charismatic. It
seems that no one completes a tour of duty at GTMO without getting to know these prehistoric-looking giants."
In a round-about way, the Cuban iguana's status under the US Endangered Species Act made its way into US
jurisprudence. In the fall of 2003, attorney Tom Wilner needed to persuade the justices of the US Supreme Court to
take the case of a dozen Kuwaiti detainees being held in isolation in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, without charges,
without a hearing and without access to a lawyer. According to Peter Honigsberg, a professor of law at the
University of San Francisco, Wilner unsuccessfully made two arguments before the Court to hear his case; in his
third argument he changed tactics by mentioning US law and the Cuban iguana. Wilner argued, "Anyone, including
a federal official, who violates the Endangered Species Act by harming an iguana at Guantanamo, can be fined and
prosecuted. Yet the government argues that US law does not apply to protect the human prisoners there". According
to Honigsberg, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case because of this argument.
Decline
In general the species is in decline, more quickly on the mainland than on the outlying islets. The Cuban mainland
populations have been declining at a rate of over 1% per year for the last 10years. The Cuban iguana is no longer
found on the northeastern coast of Havana, the Hicacos Peninsula, or Cayo Largo, areas where it was found in great
numbers some 30 to 40years ago.
As opposed to other West Indian islands where iguanids are found, consumption of iguana meat is not widespread in
Cuba. Certain fishing communities do practice it for subsistence, but for the most part the animal is not eaten by
Cubans. According to naturalist Thomas Barbour, this is based on unfounded superstitious beliefs which suggest that
the iguanas emit a dark fluid reminiscent of the black vomit of yellow fever victims when they are killed. One of the
reasons for their decline is habitat destruction caused by the overgrazing of farm animals, housing development, and
the building of tourist resorts on the beaches where the animals prefer to build their nests. Populations of iguanas
suffer by the direct predation of introduced animals such as rats, cats, and dogs. Feral hogs are responsible for
destroying many iguana nest sites which they dig up for eggs. Ant predation of iguana eggs is another threat to the
species.
Cyclura nubila
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Recovery
Cyclura nubila at a tourist resort in south-east
Cuba.
All but one of the major iguana concentrations are either partially or
fully protected by the Cuban government. Although no
captive-breeding program exists within Cuba, the Centro Nacional de
Areas Protegidas (the National Center for Protected Areas) has
suggested it will explore this route in the future. In 1985 the Cuban
government issued a commemorative peso depicting a Cuban iguana
on the head side of the coin in an attempt to raise awareness for this
animal.
In 1993 the San Diego Zoo experimentally tested the utility of a
"head-starting" program for newly hatched Cuban iguanas with
funding from the National Science Foundation's Conservation and
Restoration Biology Program. "Head-starting" is a process by which the Cuban iguana's eggs are hatched in an
incubator and the animals are protected and fed for the first 20 months of their lives. The purpose is to get the
animals to a size where they are more capable of fleeing from or fighting off predators. This technique was originally
used to protect hatchling sea turtles, Galapagos land iguanas, and Ctenosaura bakeri on the island of tila, but
Alberts used it for the first time on a Cyclura species with the Cuban iguana. The purpose was not only to help the
Cuban iguana population, but to test the overall effectiveness of headstarting as a conservation strategy for more
critically endangered species of Cyclura.
The strategy proved successful, according to Alberts, when the released head-started iguanas reacted to predators,
foraged for food, and behaved like their wild-born counterparts. This strategy has been implemented with great
success with other critically endangered species of Cyclura and Ctenosaura throughout the West Indies and Central
America, notably the Jamaican iguana, Grand Cayman blue iguana, Ricord's iguana, Allen Cays iguana, Acklins
ground iguana, and Anegada iguana.
References
Footnotes
Note a:Burton, F. (2004): The 1977 study by Schwartz and Carey included scalation counts for different species
of Cyclura, but did not distinguish Cyclura nubila from Cyclura cychlura found in the Bahamas. Fred Burton
noted a conspicuously enlarged canthal scale in Cyclura cychlura while performing his survey of Cyclura.
Burton's conclusion was that in 2 of 38 specimens of Cyclura lewisi, the fourth auricular row was so reduced as to
appear like Cyclura nubila caymanensis, and in six of 38 C. n. caymanensis, a complete row of five auriculars
was present. The character was intermediate for Cyclura nubila, where 10 of 32 specimens showed a complete
auricular row.
Cyclura nubila
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Further reading
Alberts, Allison C. (2006). "Conserving the Remarkable Reptiles of Guantanamo Bay". Iguana (IRCF) 13 (1):
815.
Alberts, Allison C. (1995). "Use of statistical models based on radiographic measurements to predict oviposition
date and clutch size in rock iguanas (Cyclura nubila)". Zoo Biology 14 (6): 543553. doi:
10.1002/zoo.1430140607 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1002/ zoo. 1430140607).
Alberts, Allison C.; Lemm, Jeff M.; Perry, A. M.; Morici, Lisa; Phillips, John (2002). "Temporary alteration of
local social structure in a threatened population of Cuban iguanas (Cyclura nubila)". Behavioral Ecology and
Sociobiology 51 (4): 324335. doi: 10.1007/s00265-001-0445-z (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1007/
s00265-001-0445-z).
Alberts, Allison C.; Oliva, M.L.; Worley, M. B.; Telford, Sam R.; Morris, Patrick J.; Janssen, Donald L. (1998).
"The need for pre-release health screening in animal translocations: a case study of the Cuban iguana (Cyclura
nubila)". Animal Conservation 1 (3): 165172. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-1795.1998.tb00025.x (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10.
1111/ j. 1469-1795. 1998. tb00025. x).
Alberts, Allison C.; Lemm, Jeff M.; Perry, A. M. (1997). "Effects of incubation temperature and water potential
on growth and thermoregulatory behavior of hatchling Cuban rock iguanas (Cyclura nubila)". Copeia (4):
766776.
An, J.H.; Somer, J. A.; Shore, Gary D.; Williamson, Janet E.; Brenneman, Rick A.; Louis, Edward E. (2004).
"Characterization of 20 microsatellite marker loci in the west Indian rock iguana (Cyclura nubila)". Conservation
Genetics 5 (1): 121125. doi: 10.1023/B:COGE.0000014062.86556.e3 (http:/ / dx. doi. org/ 10. 1023/ B:COGE.
0000014062.86556. e3).
Garcia, Miguel A. (2006). "Cyclura nubila on Isla Magueyes, Puerto Rico". Iguana (IRCF) 13 (2): 126.
Lacy, K.E.; Martins, E. P. (2003). "The effect of anthropogenic habitat usage on the social behaviour of a
vulnerable species, Cyclura nubila". Animal Conservation 6 (1): 39. doi: 10.1017/S1367943003003020 (http:/ /
dx. doi. org/ 10. 1017/ S1367943003003020).
Rehak, Ivan; Velensky, Petr (2001). "The biology and breeding of the Cuban ground iguana (Cyclura nubila) in
captivity". Gazella 28 (1): 129208.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cyclura nubila.
Wikispecies has information related to: Cyclura nubila
Cuban iguana at Cyclura.com (http:/ / cyclura. com/ status/ cuban. htm)
International Iguana Foundation Article on Cuban Iguanas (http:/ / www. iguanafoundation. org/ article.
php?articleID=50)
Guided by Nature: Conservation Research and Captive Husbandry of the Cuban Iguana (http:/ / php. indiana. edu/
~emartins/ Melissa/ alberts2. html)
Article Sources and Contributors
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Article Sources and Contributors
Cyclura nubila Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=621888060 Contributors: Angusmclellan, Another Believer, Aranae, Arjuno3, Auric, Axl, Bibliomaniac15, Calliopejen1,
Ceilidthbear, Charles Matthews, Colonies Chris, Dabomb87, Debresser, DrKiernan, Droll, Dthomsen8, DynamoDegsy, Ealdgyth, Fifelfoo, Finetooth, Gorthian, GrahamColm, Innotata, Jamaican
college grad, Jimfbleak, Jones 8842, Karelj, LilHelpa, Ling.Nut, Materialscientist, Mike Searson, Mishae, Nikkimaria, NuclearWarfare, Rjwilmsi, STEAKSANDSHAKE, Santista1982, Sasata,
Stickee, TDogg310, Tbhotch, Thylacinus cynocephalus, Tony1, Ucucha, Whywhenwhohow, 10 anonymous edits
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