THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Iguanidae  

Gray’s Spiny-tailed Iguana
Ctenosaura similis (Gray, 1830)

Current SSAR Comments:
Native to Central America. It was introduced to Georgia (Brennan et al., 2022, Herpetological Review 53: 272–273) and is established in many areas of Florida since the 1970s (Butterfield et al., 1997, pp. 123–138. In: D. Simberloff, D. C. Schmitz, and T. C. Brown (Editors), Strangers in Paradise: Impact and Management of Nonindigenous Species in Florida. Island Press, Washington, D.C.; Krysko and Nuñez, 2019, Ctenosaura similis. Pages 385–387 in Krysko et al. (Editors) Amphibians and Reptiles of Florida. University Press of Florida, Gainesville, Florida). Based on genetic analysis, most Florida populations are the result of independent introductions with native range origins of Honduras (Nuñez, 2016, M.S. thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville). Cowan (1969, Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 5: 137–140) listed the authority date as 1830 (not 1831).

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.04.08.12.46.04)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.06 MB

First instance(s) of published English names:
No historic English names have been assigned to this taxon yet.

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Pertinent LIterature:
1830 Gray, John E. A synopsis of the species of the class reptilia. Pages 1-110 in The Animal Kingdom Arranged in Conformity with its Organization by the Baron Cuvier, member of teh Institute of France, with Additional Descriptions of all the Species Hitherto Named, and of many not before noticed. Ninth Volume. Whittaker, Treacher, and Company, London, England. pp.
1969 Cowan, C. F. Notes on Griffth's Animal Kingdom of Cuvier (1824-1835). Journal of the Society for the Bibliography of Natural History 5(2):137-140
2003 Townsend, J. H., Kenneth L. Krysko, and Kevin M. Enge. The identity of spiny-tailed iguanas, Ctenosaura, introduced to Florida, USA (Squamata: Sauria: Iguanidae). Herpetozoa 16():67-72
2009 Krysko, Kenneth K., Kevin M. Enge, E. M. Donlan, E. Z. Golden, J. P. Burgess and K. W. Larson. The non-marine herpetofauna of Key Biscayne, Florida. Herpetological Conservation and Biology 5(1):132-142
2016 Nunez, Leroy P. Molecular analyses of three non-indigenous squamate species in Florida: Testing various hypotheses regarding species introductions. Thesis. University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. 61pp.

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Thursday 30 January 2025 02:40 CT