Ctenosaura defensor

Ctenosaura defensor
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Vertebrata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Iguanidae
Genus:	Ctenosaura
Species:	C. defensor
Binomial name
Ctenosaura defensor (Cope, 1866)
Synonyms
Cachryx defensor Cope, 1866 Ctenosaura defensor – Günther, 1890 Enyaliosaurus defensor – H.M. Smith & Taylor, 1950 Ctenosaura defensor – Liner, 1994 Ctenosaura (Enyaliosaurus) defensor – Köhler, 2000[1]

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

Habitat

Its natural habitat is tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests.

Conservation status

It is threatened by habitat loss.

In the U.S.

A foot-long specimen was found scurrying across a loading dock on July 29, 2010 at Ford Motor Co.'s Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, MI. The creature was a stowaway in parts crates shipped from the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico. The creature was moved to an enclosure at the Detroit Zoo which it will share with a female black iguana.

Source

• Köhler, G. 2004. Ctenosaura defensor. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 28 July 2007.
• Detroit Free Press. 2010. Ice-trapped pollutants poison polar bears' diets. Downloaded on 26 August 2010.