The Turks and Caicos rock iguana (Cyclura carinata) is a species of lizard endemic to the Turks and Caicos islands. This small iguana can reach and becomes mature at seven years and may live for twenty. A single clutch of up to nine eggs is laid each year, and these take three months to hatch. This iguana is mostly herbivorous, but supplements this by adding some animal matter to its diet.
At one time numerous, these iguanas have been depleted by introduced predators, mainly cats and dogs. Their habitat is being degraded by overgrazing and trampling of vegetation which reduces the availability of food for the iguanas. They have been wiped out of some islands and cling on precariously in others. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated them as endangered. Various conservation efforts are being undertaken, and some iguanas have been relocated to uninhabited islets in an effort to prevent them from becoming extinct.
Taxonomy
The Turks and Caicos rock iguana, Cyclura carinata carinata, was first described by American Zoologist Richard Harlan in Fauna Americana in 1825. Its specific name carinata means "keeled" and refers to the animal's scales. The species is endemic to 50-60 of the 200 islands and cays that make up the Turks and Caicos Islands. Morphological and genetic data indicate that the closest living relative of C. carinata is C. ricordi of Hispaniola.
Anatomy and morphology
Measuring less than in length when full grown, the Turks and Caicos Rock iguana is one of the smallest species of Cyclura. The lizard's basic color can range from green to brownish grey, usually patterned by darker markings.
Like other members of the genus Cyclura, males of this species are larger than females (in this case twice as large in body mass) and have larger dorsal crests and femoral pores on their thighs making the animals sexually dimorphic.
Habitat and distribution
left|thumbnail|Turks and Caicos rock iguana
The Turks and Caicos rock iguana inhabits small cays, but has been reduced to less than 5% of its original range largely due to the introduction of predators.
Conservation measures
thumb|right|Iguanas on Little Water Cay
Although Little Water Cay is home to over 2,000 Turks and Caicos rock iguanas, they have been wiped out from the other cays in their former range.
To date, these iguanas have experienced a 98 percent survival rate; they have adapted to new conditions and even successfully reproduced the immediate breeding season.
Legislation to protect the iguanas has been drafted by the Turks and Caicos government in 2003.