Spiny-tailed iguanas in trouble

IIF announces fund-raising campaign

Spiny-tailed iguanas – genus Ctenosaura - have not received the degree of publicity as their close relatives, the highly endangered and charismatic West Indian rock iguanas (Cyclura), and have gone overlooked by many. But finally this group is getting some long overdue attention from the zoo and conservation community. Of the 40 species of iguanine lizards, 17 belong to the genus Ctenosaura, the most species-rich genus in this family of large, primarily herbivorous lizards. Ten species were evaluated for the IUCN Red List to determine their risk of extinction and of these, five were ranked Critically Endangered. Four of these belong to the Ctenosaura melanosterna clade, a group of closely related species endemic to Honduras, including the Bay Islands and Cayos Cochinos, and Guatemala. These four species will be the focus of an IIF fund-raising campaign to drive some much-needed conservation action for this heavily persecuted and increasingly endangered group of lizards.

That a group of species could slip quietly towards extinction without a serious response from the conservation community is alarming. With the well publicized exception of the Utila iguana, C. bakeri, the other three species – C. oedirhina from Roatan, C. melanosterna from Cayos Cochinos and the Rio Aguan Valley of northern mainland Honduras and C. palearis of the Motagua Valley in Guatemala – had, until recently, largely managed to escape the attention of most iguana biologists. During the 2005 and 2006 Iguana Specialist Group (ISG) meetings, the threats facing the C. melanosterna group were discussed and a Ctenosaura working group organized. Hunting and overharvesting of eggs, combined with loss of habitat, primarily from conversion to agriculture (Guatemala) or tourist resorts (Honduras), are the leading threats. To further highlight the conservation concerns of these threatened lizards, the ISG decided to conduct a management plan workshop in Honduras, in November 2007. The meeting will be held on Utila, home of the endemic C. bakeri, where there is a well-organized iguana conservation group with a breeding, research and education center. The goal of the workshop will be to work with local individuals and NGOs to draft a set of conservation and management recommendations designed to prevent each species’ further decline. To do this we must have the support of the local communities. Of paramount importance is that we empower conservation-minded individuals and organizations, living within the range of these four species, with which we can partner to develop these plans.

To highlight the critical needs of this threatened group of ctenosaurs, the IIF is launching a fund-raising campaign. We need to support the 2007 workshop in Utila, Honduras, and then have funds on hand that can be used to implement some of the recommended conservation actions from that workshop. We need your support to help mobilize this exciting new program. For now, funds are needed to provide support for locals to participate in the workshop. Please consider a contribution to Project Ctenosaura.

Select here to donate to the Spiny-Tailed Iguana Program.