This species is threatened by habitat loss and illegal trade. These iguanas were used as a source of food by natives. Its eggs are a food source for the equally threatened Motagua Valley beaded lizard (Heloderma charlesbogerti), thereby possibly linking the status of the two species. It is included in CITES appendix II so that trade of this species is regulated.[1]
Diet
The Guatemalan spiny-tailed iguana feeds on leaves and the fruits of the cactus Stenocereus pruinosus and occasionally insects (crickets, beetles, ants and wasps).
Coti, P. and D. Ariano. 2008. Ecology and traditional use of the Guatemalan black iguana (Ctenosaura palearis) in the dry forests of the Motagua Valley, Guatemala. Iguana 15 (3): 142–149.[1]
Further reading
Stejneger, L. 1899. Description of a new species of spiny-tailed iguana from Guatemala. Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus. 21: 381–383.