program OVERVIEW

Photo: John Binns

Ricord’s Iguana is a large (SVL to 495 mm in males, 430 mm in females) iguana easily distinguished by greatly enlarged and spinose scales at each caudal vertical (tail ring) in both adults and juveniles.

Ricord’s Iguana is a large (SVL to 495 mm in males, 430 mm in females) iguana easily distinguished by greatly enlarged and spinose scales at each caudal vertical (tail ring) in both adults and juveniles. Color patterns vary little between individuals and consist of five to six bold grey dorsal chevrons alternating with dark grey to black chevrons, of which five continue as bold but narrow lines diagonally onto the venter. In adults, the chevrons are less contrasting than in juveniles. Crest scales along the neck are higher than those along the body.

Ricord’s Iguana is known only from the Dominican Republic where it occurs sympatrically throughout most of its range with the Rhinoceros Iguana, Cyclura cornuta. Three disjunct populations of Cyclura ricordii are known:

Barahona Peninsula: a 32 km2 area east of Pedernales surrounds an 8 km2 area of alluvial plain with rich red soil, Los Olivares, which was home to the largest historical population of C. ricordii. As land was cleared and irrigated for agriculture, the iguanas were confined to the surrounding areas of small soil-filled depressions and limestone rock.

Southern Shore of Lago Enriquillo: the status of the population in this area is uncertain; much habitat has been destroyed for agriculture and the remaining natural vegetation is impoverished.

Isla Cabritos: a 4 x 12 km long island in the center of the hypersaline Lago Enriquillo; it is occasionally joined to the mainland via a land bridge depending on precipitation cycles.

Number remaining: approximately 1300 Most threats are in the form of human activities that result in habitat destruction and degradation: clearing for agriculture; charcoal production; harvesting wood for fuel and lumber; overbrowsing by livestock; limestone mining; illegal collecting of cacti. Further threats take the form of:

• hunting for food
• predation by introduced carnivores (dogs, cats, mongooses)
• competition from mammalian herbivores, which also trample burrows and nes