San Salvador Iguana

(Cyclura rileyi rileyi)

IUCN Red List ranking: Critically Endangered

This small, colorful iguana was once abundant on the mainland of San Salvador but sightings there are now exceedingly rare.  Presently San Salvador iguanas are restricted largely to six tiny offshore cays of the main island   Biologists have documented the loss of several populations and declines in others.  Less than 600 remain, primarily adults.  Juveniles are particularly vulnerable to predation from rats and other introduced feral predators, thus some populations consist almost entirely of aging adults.  Expanding the size of the population is a leading priority that will involve translocations to uninhabited cays, but habitat assessments and predator removal will have to be performed first.  This small iguana averages about one foot (300 mm) in length, though larger individuals have been recorded from several islands.

For more detailed species information, please refer to the IUCN-ISG Taxonomic Account for San Salvador Iguana, Cyclura rileyi rileyi