Herpetofauna: One Life's List
Ctenosaura macrolopha
Sonoran Spinytailed Iguana
Sonora Desert Museum
Tucson, Arizona
August 15, 2006
"...Walking along one of the paths, we spotted a large lizard slowly crawling out of some thick brush. What in the world was this? Color, size, gait, stance, nothing matched the Arizona field guide pages whirling in our brains. This was a Mexican species, and an introduced one at that - a young Sonoran Spiny-Tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura macrolopha. This species was turned loose on the grounds of the museum over thirty years ago. While it has not spread beyond the grounds, C. macrolopha appears to be holding its own at the museum, snacking on invertebrates and other smaller lizards..."
