Cyclura nubila 1

Cyclura nubila

Cuban rock iguana

Cyclura nubila

Conservation status

Vulnerable  (IUCN 2.3)Scientific classification

Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: SauropsidaOrder: SquamataFamily: IguanidaeGenus: 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 oflizard of the iguana family. It is the largest of the West Indian rock iguanas (genus Cyclura), one of the mostendangered groups of lizards. This herbivorous species with red eyes, a thick tail, and spiked jowls is one of thelargest lizards in the Caribbean.The Cuban iguana is distributed throughout the rocky southern coastal areas of mainland Cuba and its surroundingislets with a feral population thriving on Isla Magueyes, Puerto Rico. It is also found on the Cayman Islands of LittleCayman and Cayman Brac, where a separate subspecies occurs. Females guard their nest sites and often nest in sitesexcavated by Cuban crocodiles. As a defense measure, the Cuban iguana often makes its home within or nearprickly-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

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conservation programs. Cyclura nubila has been used to study evolution and animal communication, and itscaptive-breeding program has been a model for other endangered lizards in the Caribbean.

Taxonomy

In the Ústí nad Labem Zoo

The Cuban rock iguana's generic name Cyclura isderived from the Ancient Greek cyclos (κύκλος)meaning "circular" and ourá (οὐρά) meaning "tail",after the thick-ringed tail characteristic of all Cyclura.John Edward Gray, the British zoologist who firstdescribed the species in 1831 as Iguana (Cyclura)nubila or "Clouded Guana", gave it the specific namenubila, Latin for "cloudy".

The closest relatives of Cyclura nubila are the GrandCayman blue iguana (Cyclura lewisi) and the NorthernBahamian rock iguana (Cyclura cychlura);phylogenetic analysis indicates that these three speciesdiverged from a common ancestor three million yearsago.

Cyclura nubila was previously considered to have three subspecies, the Grand Cayman blue iguana (termed Cycluranubila 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 thescalation 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 averagebody length of 40 centimeters (16 in) from snout tovent (the base of the tail). On rare occasions, individualmales with lengths of 1.6 meters (5.2 ft) whenmeasured from the snout to the tip of the tail have beenrecorded at the wildlife sanctuary within theGuantanamo Bay Naval Base (GTMO), Cuba withfemales being two thirds that size. The species issexually dimorphic: males are much larger thanfemales, and males have enlarged femoral pores ontheir thighs, which are used to release pheromones toattract mates and mark territory. The skin of maleCuban iguanas ranges in color from dark gray to brickred, whereas that of females is olive green with darkstripes or bands. In both sexes, limbs are black withpale brown oval spots and solid black feet. Young animals tend to be dark brown or green with faint darker stripingor mottling in five to ten diagonal transverse bands on the body. These bands blend in with the body color as theiguana ages. Both sexes possess a dewlap (skin hanging below the neck) and a row of spines running down their

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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 havepowerful jaw muscles. Their jowls, which grow larger as the animal ages, are covered in spiky protuberances calledtubercles.The Cuban iguana's eyes have a golden iris and red sclera. Cuban iguanas have excellent vision and the ability todetect shapes and movement at long distances. Sensory cells called "double cones" give them sharp color vision andenable them to see ultraviolet wavelengths. By seeking out locations with more ultraviolet sunlight to bask in, theCuban iguana optimizes vitamin D production. Cuban iguanas have poor low-light vision, because they have fewrods or photoreceptor cells. Like other iguanids, Cuban iguanas have a white photosensory organ on the top of theirheads, called the parietal eye. This "eye" has only a rudimentary retina and lens and cannot form images, but it issensitive to changes in light and can detect movement.

DietLike all Cyclura species, the Cuban iguana is primarily herbivorous; 95% of its diet consists of the leaves, flowersand fruits from as many as 30 plant species, including the seaside rock shrub (Rachicallis americana), thistle, pricklypear (Opuntia stricta), black mangrove (Avicennia germinans), red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle), olives, andvarious grasses. Aiding in the digestion of this high-cellulose diet, colonies of nematodes occupy 50% of thecontents of Cuban iguanas' large intestines. Cuban iguanas occasionally consume animal matter, and individualshave been observed scavenging the corpses of birds, fish and crabs. Researchers on Isla Magueyes observed a singleepisode of cannibalism in 2006 when an adult female iguana chased, caught, and ate a hatchling. The researcherswrote 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 mattercontains more potassium and has less nutritional content per gram than meat so more must be eaten to meet thelizard'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 Cubaniguana, which consumes large amounts of vegetation, these excess salt ions are excreted through the salt gland in thesame manner as in birds.

Mating and behaviorCuban iguanas reach sexual maturity at an age of two to three years. Males are gregarious when immature, butbecome more aggressive as they age, vigorously defending territories in competition for females. Females are moretolerant 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 tofield research, females deposit their eggs at the same nesting sites each year. The nests are built near each other assuitable nesting sites are becoming rare. On Cuba's Isla de la Juventud, Cuban iguanas nest in pockets of earthexposed to the sun by Cuban crocodiles, after the crocodiles' eggs have hatched. These nests are separate from whereadult iguanas live. In areas without crocodiles, the iguanas excavate nests in sandy beaches. At the San Diego Zoo, afemale built a nest at the end of a long chamber she excavated in the sand. She stood near it for weeks, defending itby shaking her head and hissing at anyone who approached; this behavior demonstrated that Cuban iguanas guardtheir nest sites. The hatchlings spend several days to two weeks in the nest chamber from the time they hatch to thetime 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 theirbody mass, they are capable of quick bursts of speed for short distances. Younger animals are more arboreal and willseek refuge in trees, which they can climb with great agility. The animal is a capable swimmer and will take tonearby water if threatened. When cornered they can bite and lash their tails in defense.

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Distribution and habitat

Map of Cuba

The Cuban iguana is naturallydistributed in rocky coastal areas onCuba and throughout as many as 4,000islets surrounding the Cuban mainland,including Isla de la Juventud off thesouthern coast, which has one of themost robust populations. Relativelysafe populations are found on someislets along the north and south coastsand in isolated protected areas on themainland. These includeGuanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve inthe west, Desembarco del GranmaNational Park, Hatibonico Wildlife Refuge, Punta Negra-Quemados Ecological Reserve, and Delta del CautoWildlife Refuge, all in eastern Cuba. Because of this wide distribution, accurate information about the number ofdistinct subpopulations of Cuban iguanas cannot be determined. The population on the US Naval Base atGuantánamo Bay has been estimated at 2,000 to 3,000 individuals, and the animals are treated well and protected byUS forces stationed at the base. An unusual incident occurred when a detainee in the prison assaulted a guard with abloody 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 feralpopulation 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 thornyplants offer protection and their fruit and flowers offer the iguanas food. In areas without cacti, the lizards make theirburrows 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 PuertoRico, forming an independent free-ranging feral population. As of 2000, there has been talk of removing orrelocating this population of iguanas by the US Department of Interior. This feral population is the source for 90% ofthe captive Cuban iguanas held in private collections and was the source for part of a study on animalcommunication 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 IslaMagueyes. The durations and pauses were longer by as much as 350% in the feral population. In comparison, theblue 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 illustratedthe potential of small founding population size as a catalyst to evolution with regard to communication or display. Inthis case the difference was by only six generations at most.

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Conservation

In the wild

The Cuban iguana is well-established in public andprivate collections. Many zoological parks and privateindividuals keep them in captive breeding programs,minimizing the demand for wild-caught specimens forthe pet trade. Cuban iguanas are listed as "vulnerable"on the IUCN Red List, as is the predominant Cubansubspecies, while the Cayman Island subspecies is"critically endangered". The total population in Cuba isestimated at between 40,000 and 60,000 individuals,and the feral population on Isla Magueyes is estimatedat over 1,000. According to Allison Alberts, ChiefConservation Officer of the San Diego Zoo and leadresearcher 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. Itseems 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 USjurisprudence. In the fall of 2003, attorney Tom Wilner needed to persuade the justices of the US Supreme Court totake 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 theUniversity of San Francisco, Wilner unsuccessfully made two arguments before the Court to hear his case; in histhird argument he changed tactics by mentioning US law and the Cuban iguana. Wilner argued, "Anyone, includinga federal official, who violates the Endangered Species Act by harming an iguana at Guantanamo, can be fined andprosecuted. Yet the government argues that US law does not apply to protect the human prisoners there". Accordingto Honigsberg, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case because of this argument.

DeclineIn general the species is in decline, more quickly on the mainland than on the outlying islets. The Cuban mainlandpopulations have been declining at a rate of over 1% per year for the last 10 years. The Cuban iguana is no longerfound on the northeastern coast of Havana, the Hicacos Peninsula, or Cayo Largo, areas where it was found in greatnumbers some 30 to 40 years ago.As opposed to other West Indian islands where iguanids are found, consumption of iguana meat is not widespread inCuba. Certain fishing communities do practice it for subsistence, but for the most part the animal is not eaten byCubans. According to naturalist Thomas Barbour, this is based on unfounded superstitious beliefs which suggest thatthe iguanas emit a dark fluid reminiscent of the black vomit of yellow fever victims when they are killed. One of thereasons for their decline is habitat destruction caused by the overgrazing of farm animals, housing development, andthe building of tourist resorts on the beaches where the animals prefer to build their nests. Populations of iguanassuffer by the direct predation of introduced animals such as rats, cats, and dogs. Feral hogs are responsible fordestroying many iguana nest sites which they dig up for eggs. Ant predation of iguana eggs is another threat to thespecies.

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Recovery

Cyclura nubila at a tourist resort in south-eastCuba.

All but one of the major iguana concentrations are either partially orfully protected by the Cuban government. Although nocaptive-breeding program exists within Cuba, the Centro Nacional deAreas Protegidas (the National Center for Protected Areas) hassuggested it will explore this route in the future. In 1985 the Cubangovernment issued a commemorative peso depicting a Cuban iguanaon the head side of the coin in an attempt to raise awareness for thisanimal.

In 1993 the San Diego Zoo experimentally tested the utility of a"head-starting" program for newly hatched Cuban iguanas withfunding from the National Science Foundation's Conservation andRestoration Biology Program. "Head-starting" is a process by which the Cuban iguana's eggs are hatched in anincubator and the animals are protected and fed for the first 20 months of their lives. The purpose is to get theanimals to a size where they are more capable of fleeing from or fighting off predators. This technique was originallyused to protect hatchling sea turtles, Galapagos land iguanas, and Ctenosaura bakeri on the island of Útila, butAlberts used it for the first time on a Cyclura species with the Cuban iguana. The purpose was not only to help theCuban iguana population, but to test the overall effectiveness of headstarting as a conservation strategy for morecritically 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 greatsuccess with other critically endangered species of Cyclura and Ctenosaura throughout the West Indies and CentralAmerica, notably the Jamaican iguana, Grand Cayman blue iguana, Ricord's iguana, Allen Cays iguana, Acklinsground 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 Burtonnoted 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 toappear like Cyclura nubila caymanensis, and in six of 38 C. n. caymanensis, a complete row of five auricularswas present. The character was intermediate for Cyclura nubila, where 10 of 32 specimens showed a completeauricular row.

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Further reading• Alberts, Allison C. (2006). "Conserving the Remarkable Reptiles of Guantanamo Bay". Iguana (IRCF) 13 (1):

8–15.• 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): 543–553. 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 oflocal social structure in a threatened population of Cuban iguanas (Cyclura nubila)". Behavioral Ecology andSociobiology 51 (4): 324–335. 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 (Cycluranubila)". Animal Conservation 1 (3): 165–172. 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 potentialon growth and thermoregulatory behavior of hatchling Cuban rock iguanas (Cyclura nubila)". Copeia (4):766–776.

• 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)". ConservationGenetics 5 (1): 121–125. 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): 3–9. 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) incaptivity". Gazella 28 (1): 129–208.

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 8

Article Sources and ContributorsCyclura 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, Jamaicancollege 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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