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Hunchbacked Iguana[1]
The Pantanal, Brazil
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Family:
Iguanidae
Genus:
Terrarium
Species:
Accommodans'
Binomial name
Terrarium Accommodates
Hunchback Iguana

The Hunchback Iguana(Terrarium Accommodates), also known as the Transformer Iguana, is a large, omnivorous species of lizard. It is native to Central, South America, and the Caribbean. This animal is elusive and rarely seen due to its shape-shifting capabilities on its back as well as its advanced camouflage. The Transformer Iguana ranges over a large geographic area, from southern Brazil and Paraguay as far north as Mexico and the Caribbean Islands.

The Iguana grows to 3 feet (0.91 m) in length from head to tail, 1.5 feet wide (0.45 meters) and 2 feet tall (

Rarely seen in the wild due to its extreme camouflage capabilities and near-extinction, this iguana, although illegal to hunt, is coveted by hunters for its elusiveness.

Taxonomy[edit]

The Hunchbacked Iguana was recently discovered by Deputy Al. It was discovered when the Deputy was patrolling the Amazon and stumbled upon a nest of baby Hunchback Iguanas. Realizing that he may have encountered a new species of iguana, the Deputy immediately reported them.

Upon closer inspection, the iguana was confirmed to be a new species within the family of Iguanidae.

Habitat[edit]

The Hunchbacked Iguanas natural habitat extends from Venezuela to the southern end of Brazil. Although the Iguanas are found in abundance all over northern South America, they are rarely found out in the open due to their anti-social nature.

Hunchback Iguanas are often found near water and thrive best in tropical climates. Hunchbacks also sport retractable claws that are useful when hunting and make them excellent climbers. The Hunchbacks also are able to survive dry spells without water.

In South and Central America, the Hunchbacked Iguana are being hunted to extinction by hunters who covet their rarity.

Anatomy[edit]

Model

True to their name, Hunchbacked Iguanas have a "hunched back" that they can flare up if agitated. Many scientists believe that this is an involuntary muscle response to danger. Juvenile Hunchbacks also have this characteristic, however

Adult Hunchbacks throughout South America are very similar. When compared to the common green iguana, Hunchbacks . Scales to the back of their head, near the jawbone, are smaller. Their iris is white or cream. Other green iguanas have yellow eyes.

Green iguanas possess a row of spines along their backs and along their tails, which helps to protect them from predators. Their whip-like tails can be used to deliver painful strikes and like many other lizards, when grabbed by the tail, the iguana can allow it to break, so it can escape and eventually regenerate a new one. In addition, iguanas have a well developed dewlap, which helps regulate their body temperature. This dewlap is used in courtships and territorial displays.

Green iguanas have excellent vision, enabling them to detect shapes and motions at long distances.[2] As green iguanas have only a few rod cells, they have poor vision in low-light conditions. At the same time, they have cells called “double cone cells” that give them sharp color vision and enable them to see ultraviolet wavelengths.[2] This ability is highly useful when basking so the animal can ensure that it absorbs enough sunlight in the forms of UVA and UVB to produce vitamin D.[3][4]

Green iguanas have very sharp teeth that are capable of shredding leaves and even human skin.[3] These teeth are shaped like a leaf, broad and flat, with serrations on the edge. The similarity of these teeth to those of one of the first dinosaurs discovered led to the dinosaur being named Iguanodon, meaning "iguana-tooth", and the incorrect assumption that it had resembled a gigantic iguana. The teeth are situated on the inner sides of the jawbones, which is why they are hard to see in smaller specimens.[5]

Primarily herbivorous, green iguanas are presented with a special problem for osmoregulation; plant matter contains more potassium and as it has less nutritional content per gram, more must be eaten to meet metabolic needs.[6] As green iguanas are not capable of creating liquid urine more concentrated than their bodily fluids, like birds they excrete nitrogenous wastes as urate salts through a salt gland.[6] As a result, green iguanas have developed a lateral nasal gland to supplement renal salt secretion by expelling excess potassium and sodium chloride.[6]

Green iguanas from Guatemala and southern Mexico predominantly have small horns on their snouts between their eyes and their nostrils, whereas others do not.[7] Naturalists once classified these iguanas as a separate subspecies (Iguana iguana rhinolopha); however, this classification has been found to be invalid based on mitochondrial DNA and iguanas with similar nose projections appear randomly in other populations and interbreed freely with those that do not share this trait.[3][7]

The green iguana is a large lizard and is probably the largest species in the iguana family, though a few in the Cyclura genus may match or exceed it in weight.[8] Adults typically grow to 1.2 to 1.7 m (3.9 to 5.6 ft) in length from head to tail.[3] As in all iguanas, the tail comprises much of this length, and the snout-to-vent length of most green iguanas is 30 to 42 cm (12 to 17 in). An average adult male will weigh around 4 kg (8.8 lb) while the smaller adult female will typically weigh 1.2 to 3 kg (2.6 to 6.6 lb).[9] A few large males can reach or exceed 6 to 8 kg (13 to 18 lb) in weight and 2 m (6.6 ft) long.[10] Some specimens have even reportedly been measured at a body weight of greater than 20 lb (9.1 kg).[3]

Behavior[edit]

Reddish colored green iguana

When frightened by a predator, Hunchback iguanas will attempt to flee, and if near a body of water, they dive into it and swim away.[11] If cornered by a threat, the iguana will extend and display the dewlap under its neck, stiffen and puff up its body, hiss, and bob its head at the aggressor.[7] If threat persists the iguana can lash with its tail, bite and use its claws in defense.[11] The wounded are more inclined to fight than uninjured prey.[11]

Hunchbacks use "head bobs" and dewlaps in a variety of ways in social interactions, such as greeting another iguana or to court a possible mate.[3] The frequency and number of head bobs have particular meanings to other iguanas.[7]

These iguanas are hunted by large predators like jaguars and their fear of these is exploited as a ploy to catch them in the wild. The growl of a jaguar will freeze the animal in its tracks, making it easy prey.

Diet[edit]

Iguana eating Bougainvillea leaves

Hunchback Iguanas are omnivores, with captives feeding on arthropods, fruits, small snakes and many more. In rainforests, one of the iguana's favorite foods is wild plum, Spondias mombin.

Although they will consume a wide variety of foods if offered, green iguanas are naturally herbivorous and require a precise ratio of minerals (2 to 1 calcium to phosphorus) in their diet.[4][12] It is important for captive iguanas to have a variety of leafy greens along with fruits and vegetables such as turnip greens, collards, butternut squash, acorn squash, mango,and parsnip.[13][14] Juvenile iguanas often eat feces from adults in order to acquire the essential microflora to digest their low-quality and hard-to-process vegetarian-only diet.[11][15]

There is some debate as to whether captive green iguanas should be fed animal protein.[3] There is evidence of wild iguanas eating grasshoppers and tree snails, usually as a byproduct of eating plant material.[16][17] Wild adult green iguanas have been observed eating birds' eggs.[18] Zoologists, such as Adam Britton, believe that such a diet containing protein is unhealthy for the animal's digestive system resulting in severe long-term health damage including kidney failure and leading to premature death.[19] On the other side of the argument is that green iguanas at the Miami Seaquarium in Key Biscayne, Florida, have been observed eating dead fish and individuals kept in captivity have been known to eat mice without any ill effects.[3] De Vosjoli writes that captive animals have been known to survive and thrive on eating nothing but whole rodent block, or monkey chow, and one instance of romaine lettuce with vitamin and calcium supplements.[3] However, it is only recommended that captive iguanas not be fed lettuce or meat, and instead receive the vitamins and minerals they need via a purely herbivore diet.

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  1. ^ "Iguana iguana (Linnaeus, 1758)". Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  2. ^ a b Brames, Henry (2007), "Aspects of Light and Reptile Immunity" (PDF), Iguana: Conservation, Natural History, and Husbandry of Reptiles, 14 (1), International Reptile Conservation Foundation: 19–23
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i De Vosjoli, Phillipe; Susan Donoghue; Roger Klingenberg; David Blair (2003), The Green Iguana Manual, Advanced Vivarium Systems, ISBN 978-1-882770-67-0
  4. ^ a b Rosenfeld, Arthur (1989), Exotic Pets, New York: Simon & Schuster, p. 105, ISBN 0-671-47654-8
  5. ^ Conant, Roger; Collins, Joseph (1991), A Field Guide to Reptiles and Amphibians Eastern/Central North America, Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, pp. 94–95, ISBN 0-395-58389-6
  6. ^ a b c Hazard, Lisa C. (2004), "Sodium and Potassium Secretion by Iguana Salt Glands", Iguanas: Biology and Conservation, University of California Press, pp. 84–85, ISBN 978-0-520-23854-1
  7. ^ a b c d Samuelson, Phillip (1995-06-01), "The Lizard King", Reptiles Magazine, 3 (2): 64–84
  8. ^ Green Iguana, Iguana iguana, Giant Green Iguana Facts and Care. Animal-world.com. Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
  9. ^ Rivas, J.A. (2008). Pers. comm.
  10. ^ Green Iguana – Iguana iguana : WAZA : World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. WAZA. Retrieved on 2012-08-22.
  11. ^ a b c d Swanson, Paul L. (1950), "The iguana: Iguana iguana iguana (L)", Herpetologica, 6: 187–193, JSTOR 3890004
  12. ^ Kaplan, Melissa (2007-04-19). "'MK Diet' – The Short Version". Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Collection. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
  13. ^ "Food Information Chart". Green Iguana Society.
  14. ^ "Food Chart". Iguana Zone.
  15. ^ Burghart, Gordon (2004), "Iguana Research: Looking Back and Looking Ahead", Iguanas: Biology and Conservation, University of California Press, pp. 5–10, ISBN 978-0-520-23854-1
  16. ^ Townsend, Josiah H.; John Slapcinsky; Kenneth L. Krysko; Ellen M. Donlan; Elizabeth A. Golden (2005). "Predation of a tree snail Drymaeus multilineatus (Gastropoda: Bulimulidae) by Iguana iguana (Reptilia: Iguanidae) on Key Biscayne, Florida" (PDF). SouthEastern Naturalist. pp. 361–364. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  17. ^ Meshaka, Walter; Bartlett, Richard; Smith, Henry (2004). "Colonization success by Green Iguanas in Florida". Iguana: Journal of the International Iguana Society. 11 (3). State Museum of Pennsylvania, Zoology and Botany: 154–161.
  18. ^ Lazell, J.D. (1973), "The lizard genus Iguana in the Lesser Antilles", Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, vol. 145, New York, pp. 1–28
  19. ^ Britton, Adam (2007-04-19). "Animal Protein and Claw Trimming". Melissa Kaplan's Herp Care Collection. Retrieved 2007-06-27.
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