Subphylum Vertebrata Suborder Iguania Rank Species | Phylum Chordata | |
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Similar Conolophus, Galapagos land iguana, Reptile, Conolophus marthae, Iguanidae | ||
Conolophus pallidus (the Barrington land iguana or Santa Fe land iguana) is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It is one of three species in the genus Conolophus. It is endemic to Santa Fe Island in the Galapagos.
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Taxonomy
First described by American zoologist Edmund Heller in 1903, it has been questioned whether C. pallidus is a valid species in its own right or merely a variant or possibly a subspecies of the Galapagos land iguana found on other islands in the Galapagos.
Etymology
Its generic name, Conolophus, is derived from two Greek words: conos (κώνος) meaning "spiny" and lophos (λοφος) meaning "crest" or "plume", denoting the spiny crest along its back. Its specific name, pallidus, is Latin for "pale", denoting its lighter coloration than C. subcristatus.
Morphology
The Santa Fe land iguana is similar in every detail to the Galapagos land iguana except that the Santa Fe land iguana is paler yellow with a longer more tapered snout and more pronounced dorsal spines.
The Santa Fe land iguana grows to a total length (including tail) of 0.91 m (3 ft) with a body weight of up to 11 kg (25 lb). Being cold-blooded, they absorb heat from the sun basking on volcanic rock and at night sleep in burrows to conserve their body heat. These iguanas also enjoy a symbiotic relationship with the island's finches; the birds remove parasites and ticks providing relief to the iguana and food for the birds.
Diet
Santa Fe land iguanas are primarily herbivorous, however some individuals have shown that they are opportunistic carnivores supplementing their diet with insects, centipedes and carrion. Because fresh water is scarce on the islands they inhabit, land iguanas obtain the majority of their moisture from the prickly-pear cactus that makes up 80% of its diet: fruit, flowers, pads, and even spines. During the rainy season they will drink from available standing pools of water and feast on yellow flowers of the genus Portulaca.