June 22nd, 2009

I know, I know. I did promise that “Gumbolimbo” would be my last plant/animal blog. Rock Iguanas  are just so cool though! They’re the lizards that I  talked about in my very first blog entry, the ones that are endangered and tend to get underfoot. I’ve almost squashed twenty (give or take). So. Let’s get started with a few basic facts. It’s scientific name is Cyclura carinata, of which the “Cyclura” derives from the Greek κύκλος (or “cyclos” which means circular) and Greek οὐρά (or “oura” (supposed to be an accent on the “a”) which means tail). These iguanas are also in the “very endangered” stage of things, with many dying out mainly to their almost only predators: feral dogs and cats. On various cays large numbers have died out when only a small amount of these predators were introduced . Next, we’ll get to the cool things. If Turks and Caicos Rock Iguanas are caught in a flood, they can inflate themselves and float to safety! How cool is that?! Also, if a Rock Iguanas tail happens to break off, it will grow back looking like it never broke off in the first place! No matter how cool it may be, though, I still wouldn’t want to find an iguana tail lying in the road (sorry that I have to leave you with that gross image).

Oh, and here is my source for some of the information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turks_and_Caicos_rock_iguana

Filed under: Shelley |