Yucatán spiny-tailed iguana

Yucatán spiny-tailed iguana
CITES Appendix II (CITES)[2]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Iguanidae
Genus: Cachryx
Species:
C. defensor
Binomial name
Cachryx defensor
Cope, 1866[3]
Synonyms[4][5]
  • Ctenosaura defensor (Cope, 1866)
  • Enyaliosaurus defensor (Cope, 1866)

The Yucatán spiny-tailed iguana (Cachryx defensor) is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It is endemic to northern Yucatán, Mexico.

Habitat

Its natural habitat is tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests.

Conservation status

It is threatened by habitat loss.[1]

In the United States

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, Michigan. 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.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b Köhler, G. 2004. Ctenosaura defensor. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 31 July 2022.
  2. ^ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2023-08-09.
  3. ^ "Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia". Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. November 28, 1866.
  4. ^ Cachryx defensor at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2018-11-27.
  5. ^ "Integrated Taxonomic Information System". www.itis.gov. Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 2018-11-27.
  6. ^ Detroit Free Press. 2010. Scaly stowaway in auto parts finds home at the zoo. Downloaded on 26 August 2010.