Navassa Island iguana (SciiFii)

The Navassa Island iguana (Cyclura cornuta onchiopsis) is a subspecies of rhinoceros iguana that is found on the Caribbean island of Navassa. The Navassa Island iguana was once extinct since the late 20th century as a result of military activities, humans mining for guano, and/or introduction of the now regionally-extinct invasive species (such as goats, feral dogs, and rats), but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and reintroduced to Navassa. The Navassa Island iguanas vary in length from 60 to 136 centimeters (24 to 54 inches), with skin colors ranging from a steely gray to a dark green and even brown, and possesses a bony-plated pseudo-horn or outgrowth which resembles the horn of a rhinoceros. The Navassa Island iguana, like most Cyclura species, is primarily herbivorous, consuming leaves, flowers, berries, and fruits from different plant species. The seeds in these fruits consumed by Navassa Island iguanas have an adaptive advantage by sprouting before the end of very short rainy seasons. The Navassa Island iguana is also an important means of distributing these seeds to new areas (particularly when females migrate to nesting sites) and, as one of the largest native reptilian herbivores of their island's ecosystem, they are essential for maintaining the balance between climate and vegetation. The Navassa Island iguana is a diurnal subspecies living primarily in rocky outcroppings with little vegetation for cover. Although quick to flee when attacked or threatened, they will aggressively attack by biting and repeatedly striking with their thick tail if cornered. The Navassa Island Iguana is a species that is vibrant in comparison to other species. However, even though they look intimidating with the scales and horns, they are more calm than the blue or green iguanas. Male Navassa Island iguanas, unlike many other members of the genus Cyclura, reach sexual maturity at four to five years of age. Females become sexually mature at two to three years of age. Male Navassa Island iguanas are territorial and the most aggressive males will have the largest range of territory. Mating takes place at the beginning of, or just prior to, the first rainy season of the year (May to June) and lasts for two to three weeks. Females lay from 2 to 34 eggs, with an average clutch size of 17, within 40 days. Females guard their nests for several days after laying their eggs, and incubation lasts approximately 85 days. It has been noted that their eggs are among the largest eggs produced by native-modern lizards in the world. Notably, despite Navassa Island iguanas exhibiting some sexual dimorphism in size and horn development, they exhibit comparatively less sexual dimorphism than most other iguanas. Both male and female Navassa Island iguanas lack prominent mid-dorsal spines on their neck, which are typically very large in male iguanas of other species, both have well-developed dewlaps, and both develop horns. By contrast, in many other animals that exhibit horns such as ungulates or rhinoceros beetles, horns are often only present in males. Navassa Island iguanas are also reported to show less dimorphism in size than other iguana species. This reduced dimorphism has been suggested to be due to intense female-female competition in Navassa Island iguanas, given the scarcity of nesting sites in their island environment, and females will use their horns to fight with one another over access to nesting sites much as males fight for access to females. Similar female-female combat over nesting sites has been documented in other island iguanas such as the marine iguana. The conservation status of the Navassa Island is Critically Endangered due to habitat loss and, historically, overcollection for pet trade and the invasive species, however, thanks to the conservationists, the Navassa Island iguana is a protected species and the invasive rats, goats, and feral dogs have been eradicated from Navassa to protect the biodiversity of the island. Due to demands for more exotic pets, SciiFii created a derived form of the Navassa Island iguana, known as the Domestic rhinoceros iguana, which comes in a much wider array of colors and slight body shape variations, as well as being much more adapted to a wider range of climates, temperatures, and being much easier to keep, care, and breed in captivity than its wild counterpart.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii