Central Fijian Banded Iguana

Fiji banded Iguanas reach reproductive maturity around 3 or 4 years old. To attract a mate, male Fiji banded iguanas will often times stick out their tongues and flick them repeatedly. They also will bob their heads in a rhythmic way to attract mates. Females will typically lay a clutch of 5–7 eggs, and those eggs incubate for 7–9 months. One major complication that has impacted the reproductions of Fijian banded iguanas is yolk coelomitis. Yolk coelomitis is a condition in most reptiles that occurs as a result of pre-ovulatory follicular stasis. The yolk and other nutrients of the body are not well absorbed and as a result the yolk never develops a membrane. The yolk keeps growing and breaks eventually. When it breaks, the materials from the yolk cause an infection in the coelomic cavity called Yolk Peritonitis.

The generic name, Brachylophus, is derived from two Greek words: brachys (βραχυς) meaning "short" and lophos (λοφος) meaning "crest" or "plume", denoting the short spiny crests along the back of this species. The specific name, bulabula, is a doubling of the Fijian word for "hello": bula. The species is closely related to the Fiji crested iguana. This species was described after a mitochondrial DNA analysis of 61 iguanas from 13 islands showed that B. bulabula was genetically and physically different from the two other species. All species in this genus are thought to have evolved from ancestors that rafted 9,000 km (5,600 mi) west across the Pacific Ocean from the Americas, where their closest relatives are found. It has also been suggested that the genus evolved from iguanas that crossed, in part over dry land bridges, to Fiji from Southeast Asia.