Barrington Land Iguana
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| Barrington Land Iguana | ||||||||||||||
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| Conolophus pallidus Heller, 1903 |
The Barrington Land Iguana (Conolophus pallidus) is a species of lizard in the Iguanidae family. It is one of two species of Conolophus. It is endemic to Santa Fe Island in the Galapagos.[1][2]
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[edit] Taxonomy
First described by American Zoologist Edmund Heller in 1903, it has been questioned whether C. pallidus is a valid species in its own right or merely a variant or possibly subspecies of the Galapagos Land Iguana found on other islands in the Galapagos.[3] It's Generic name Conolophus is derived from two Greek words: cono meaning "spiny" and loph meaning "crest", denoting the spiny crests along their backs. It's specific name pallidus is Latin for "pale", denoting its lighter coloration than C. subcristatus.
[edit] Morphology
The Barrington Land Iguana is similar in every detail to the Galapagos Land Iguana except that the Barrington Island Iguana is paler yellow in color with a longer more tapered snout and more pronounced dorsal spines.[1]
The Barrington Land Iguana grows to a length of three feet with a body weight of up to twenty-five pounds.[4] Being cold-blooded, they absorb heat from the sun basking on volcanic rock and at night sleep in burrows to conserve their body heat.[4] These iguanas also enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the island's finches; the birds remove parasites and ticks providing relief to the iguana and food for the birds.[1][5]
[edit] Diet
Barrington Land iguanas are primarily herbivorous, however some individuals have shown that they are opportunistic carnivores supplementing their diet with insects, centipedes and carrion.[1] Because fresh water is scarce on the islands it inhabits, the Land Iguana obtains the majority of its moisture from the prickly-pear cactus that makes up 80% of its diet: fruit, flowers, pads, and even spines.[4][1] During the rainy season it will drink from available standing pools of water and feast on yellow flowers of the Genus Portulaca.[4][5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e Freda (2006). Land iguanas. Charles Darwin Research Station Fact Sheet. Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
- ^ World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1996). Conolophus pallidus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 10/17/2007.
- ^ Rassmann, Kornelia; Markmann, Melanie; Trillmich, Fritz & Tautz, Diethard (2004), Tracing the Evolution of the Galapagos Iguanasn, California: University of California Press, pp. 71-83, ISBN 9780520238541
- ^ a b c d Rogers, Barbara (1990), Galapagos, New York: Mallard Press, pp. 51, ISBN 9780792451921
- ^ a b Kricher, John (2006), Galapagos: A Natural History, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, pp. 9,51,91,200, ISBN 9780691126333
