Yucatán spiny-tailed iguana | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Family: | Iguanidae |
Genus: | Cachryx |
Species: | C. defensor
|
Binomial name | |
Cachryx defensor | |
Synonyms [4] [5] | |
|
The Yucatán spiny-tailed iguana (Cachryx defensor) is a species of lizard in the family Iguanidae. It is endemic to northern Yucatán, Mexico.
Its natural habitat is tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests.
It is threatened by habitat loss. [1]
A foot-long specimen was found scurrying across a loading dock on July 29, 2010 at Ford Motor Co.'s Van Dyke Transmission Plant in Sterling Heights, Michigan. The creature was a stowaway in parts crates shipped from the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico. The creature was moved to an enclosure at the Detroit Zoo which it will share with a female black iguana. [6]