Campeche spiny-tailed iguana

The Campeche spiny-tailed iguana (Cachryx alfredschmidti)^[1] is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. The species is native to southeastern Mexico and adjacent Guatemala.^[3]

Campeche spiny-tailed iguana
Conservation status
Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Iguanidae
Genus:	Cachryx
Species:	C. alfredschmidti
Binomial name
Cachryx alfredschmidti (G. Köhler, 1995)[2]
Synonyms[3]
Ctenosaura alfredschmidti G. Köhler, 1995 Cachryx alfredschmidti — Malone et al., 2017

Etymology

The specific name, alfredschmidti, is in honor of German herpetoculturist Alfred Schmidt.^[3][4]

Description

Adult males of C. alfredschmidti reach at least 170 mm (6.7 in) and females 152 mm (6.0 in) in snout-to-vent length (SVL).^[2] Tail length varies from 74%^[5] to 85% SVL.^[2]

Geographic range

C. alfredschmidti was thought to be endemic to southern Campeche in Mexico.^[1][2] However, in 2003, this species was also recorded by a scientific expedition to the Mirador-Río Azul National Park in the Petén Department in Northern Guatemala. This was the first record in Guatemala's herpetofauna for this species.^[5]

Habitat

The natural habitat of C. alfredschmidti is tropical moist lowland forest^[1] and seasonally flooded scrub forest.^[5]

Behavior

C. alfredschmidti is arboreal.^[1] It can find safety in hollow branches and tree trunks, blocking the entrance with its spiny tail.^[2][5]

Diet

Fecal samples suggests that the diet of C. alfredschmidti consists of leaves, though it probably will eat arthropods too.^[2]

Reproduction

C. alfredschmidti is oviparous.^[3]

Conservation status

C. alfredschmidti is potentially threatened by habitat loss and degradation.^[1] The Guatemalan population was found in the Mirador-Río Azul National Park.^[5]

References

1. Köhler G [in French] (2004). "Ctenosaura alfredschmidti ". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T44180A10856950. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T44180A10856950.en.
2. Köhler G (1995). "Eine neue Art der Gattung Ctenosaura (Sauria: Iguanidae) aus dem südlichen Campeche, Mexico" [A new species of the genus Ctenosaura (Sauria: Iguanidae) from southern Campeche, Mexico]. Salamandra. 31 (1): 1–14. (Ctenosaura alfredschmidti, new species). (in German).
3. Cachryx alfredschmidti at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 2 August 2017.
4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Ctenosaura alfredschmidti, p. 5).
5. Radachowsky J, García Anleu R, Köhler G (2004). "First record of Ctenosaura alfredschmidti Köhler, 1995 in Guatemala". Salamandra. 40 (1): 11–13.

Further reading

• Malone CL, Reynoso VH, Buckley L (2017). "Never judge an iguana by its spines: Systematics of the Yucatan spiny tailed [sic] iguana, Ctenosaura defensor (Cope, 1866)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 115: 27–39. (Cachryx alfredschmidti, new combination).
• Morales-Mávil JE, Bello-Sánchez EA, Corona-López CR (2016). "Distribution and Natural History of the Campeche Spiny-tailed Iguanas [sic] (Ctenosaura alfredschmidti)". Herpetological Conservation and Biology 11 (Monograph 6): 168–176. (in English, with an abstract in Spanish).