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Ctenosaura palearis
Guatemalan spiny-tailed iguana
Conservation status
Endangered  (IUCN 3.1)
CITES Appendix II (CITES)
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Iguanidae
Genus:	Ctenosaura
Species:	C. palearis
Binomial name
Ctenosaura palearis Stejneger, 1899

Ctenosaura palearis, commonly known as the Motagua spiny-tailed iguana, is a species of spiny-tailed iguana endemic to the Motagua Valley in Guatemala.

Conservation status

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.

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).

Habitat

The habitat of C. palearis is characterized by a greater frequency of the cactus Stenocereus pruinosus, Albizzia idiopoda, Ximena americana and Acacia deamii. The Guatemalan spiny-tailed iguana can be regarded as a keystone species because it plays an important role in seed dispersal of S. pruinosus.

References

1. ^ Ariano-Sánchez, D.; Gil-Escobedo, J.; del Valle, E.; Pasachnik, S.A. (2019). "Ctenosaura palearis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T44192A129419077. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-2.RLTS.T44192A129419077.en. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
2. "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.

• 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.

Further reading

• Stejneger, L. 1899. Description of a new species of spiny-tailed iguana from Guatemala. Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus. 21: 381–383.

v t e Iguanidae
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata
Extant species Amblyrhynchus Marine iguana Brachylophus Brachylophus bulabula Lau banded iguana Gau iguana Fiji crested iguana Cachryx Campeche spinytail iguana Yucatán spinytail iguana Conolophus Galapagos land iguana Galapagos pink land iguana Santa Fe land iguana Ctenosaura Northeastern spinytail iguana Utila iguana Balsas armed lizard Yellowback spinytail iguana Cape spinytail iguana Honduran paleate spinytail iguana Oaxacan spinytail iguana Roatán spinytail iguana Guatemalan spinytail iguana Ctenosaura pectinata Club tail iguana Black spinytail iguana Cyclura Turks and Caicos rock iguana Jamaican iguana Rhinoceros iguana Northern Bahamian rock iguana Grand Cayman blue iguana Cuban iguana Lesser Caymans iguana Anegada ground iguana Ricord's iguana San Salvador iguana Mona ground iguana Dipsosaurus Desert iguana Catalina desert iguana Iguana Green iguana Lesser Antillean iguana Sauromalus Common chuckwalla Angel Island chuckwalla Monserrat chuckwalla San Esteban chuckwalla Spotted chuckwalla

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• IUCN Red List endangered species
• Ctenosaura
• Endemic fauna of Guatemala
• Reptiles of Guatemala
• Lizards of Central America
• Taxa named by Leonhard Stejneger
• Reptiles described in 1899
• Iguanidae stubs