Black Iguana, Oceanside, April 27, 2015

Year: 2015 (April 27, 2015)

11″ x 8.5″

Media: Canon® Pro Platinum High Gloss Photo Paper

Printers: Canon® PIXMA

Color

Art: Photo

Artist: Luc Paquin

Rocking Horse Ln, Oceanside, CA, USA

Black Iguana

Ctenosaura similis, commonly known as the black spiny-tailed iguana, black iguana, or black ctenosaur, is a lizard native to Mexico and Central America that has been introduced to the United States in the state of Florida. It is the largest species in the genus Ctenosaura and has been recorded as the fastest-running species of lizard.

Description

Black spiny-tailed iguana have distinctive keeled scales on their long tails, which gives them their common name. They, along with C. Pectinata are the largest members of the genus Ctenosaura, males capable of growing up to 1.3 meters (4 ft 3 in) in length and females slightly shorter at .8-1 meter. They have a crest of long spines which extends down the center of the back. Although coloration varies extremely among individuals of the same population, adults usually have a whitish gray or tan ground color with a series of 4-12 well-defined dark dorsal bands that extend nearly to the ventral scales. Males also develop an orange color around the head and throat during breeding season with highlights of blue and peach on their jowls.

Luc