Rhinoceros iguana  (Cyclura cornuta)

Range

The nominate subspecies, C. c. cornuta, is found in the West Indies on Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and surrounding islands. As its common name implies, the Mona Island iguana (C. c. stejnegeri) subspecies is endemic to the remote island of Mona, a small 11 by 7 km island situated midway between Puerto Rico and Hispaniola (2). Another closely related species or subspecies (scientific opinions vary) was found on Navassa Island, but is now believed extinct (4).

View a distribution map for this species at UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

Habitat

Rhinoceros iguanas are terrestrial reptiles that prefer dry, rocky terrain in coastal areas, but also inhabit scrub woodlands, semi-deciduous forests and dry to subtropical, moist forests (2) (6). Although primarily coastal, human expansion has forced many populations to retreat further inland (4). Subtropical Mona Island is vegetated with an open canopy forest of short, seasonally deciduous trees, shrubs, cacti and bromeliads (2).

left