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Spiny-tailed Iguanas
Ctenosaura
Ctenosaura is a lizard genus commonly known as spinytail iguanas or Ctenosaurs. The genus is part of the large lizard family, Iguanidae and is native to Mexico and Central America. The name is derived from two Greek words: ctenos (κτενός), meaning "comb" (referring to the comblike spines on the lizard's back and tail), and saura (σαύρα), meaning "lizard".
16 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 15 known species
Black Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura similis
Western Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura pectinata
Cape Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura hemilopha
Eastern Mexican Spiny-Tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura acanthura
San Esteban Island × Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana
hybridCtenosaura conspicuosa × macrolopha
Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura macrolopha
De Queiroz's Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura oedirhina
Baker's Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura bakeri
Oaxacan Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura oaxacana
Black-chested Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura melanosterna
Balsas Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura clarki
Isla San Esteban Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura conspicuosa
Southern Honduran Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura quinquecarinata
Guatemalan Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura palearis
Yellowback Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura flavidorsalis
Nolasco Spiny-tailed Iguana
speciesCtenosaura nolascensis
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Ctenosaura in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 35302.