Mini “Dinosaurs” of the Yucatan

If you are staying along the coast of the Yucatan in the Mexican Riviera Maya or Belize, you are likely to encounter a large lizard that looks like it could be an escapee from Jurassic Park. While not really dinosaurs of course, I first encountered the black spiny-tailed iguana, Ctenosaura similis, several years ago on Caye Caulker, an island off the coast of Belize.

I’m not sure why they are described as black when they are really a gray similar to the limestone rocks they seem to prefer living on. I read it is the black banding on the tail, but again, it doesn’t seem all that prominent. That is the common name; however, and they do have spiny tails.

I saw them again recently in Playa del Carmen at the Sandos Caracol Eco Resort and at the Mayan Ruins of Tulum, where it seemed that every rock and ruin had its own personal iguana. This isn’t surprising as they prefer rocky habitat as well as trees to climb. I’ve seen them both on rocks as mentioned and also lounging on tree branches.

These fierce-looking reptiles are relatively harmless if you leave them alone. They will bite and lash their tales if cornered, as do many in the iguana family. Another defensive strategy is to run away from predators. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, they are the fastest lizard in the world having been clocked at an amazing speed of 21.5 mph.

Black spiny-tailed iguanas are primarily vegetarians that feed on flowers, fruit, and leaves but will also eat insects, small animals, and eggs when they find them. They are perhaps the only animal that can eat the extremely toxic fruit of the manchineel tree, listed as the most poisonous tree in the world by the Guinness Book of World Records. One fruit is said to be enough to kill 20 people and even the sap is toxic to touch.

The males are larger growing just over 4ft in length compared to just over 3ft for the females. The males will defend a small territory against other males, so when you see two together it is usually a male and female as they will tolerate a female in their space.

Black spiny-tailed iguanas have a large range throughout Central America down into the northwestern corner of Columbia in South America. They have been introduced into Florida where they are considered an invasive species and a threat to native plants and animals.

By rbrausse, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25102569

As with their distant cousins, the green iguana, black-spiny tailed iguanas sometimes wind up on the dinner table in Central America where they are known as “chicken of the trees.” I would rather just watch these fascinating lizards that seem to hark back to an earlier reptilian age.