PROCEEDINGS - Smithsonian Institution

Vol. XVI, pp. 129-132

November

12, 1903

PROCEEDINGS

OF THE

BIOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON

A NEW ^{SPECIES OF LARGE IGUANA} FROM THE BAHAMA ISLANDS.

BY LEONHARD STEJNEGEK,

[By permission^of the Secretary^of the Smithsonian Institution.]

Mr.

J.

H.

_Riley, of the

United

States

National Museum, while

attached tothe

Bahama _Expedition

of the

Baltimore Geo- graphical

Society,

during

^the

summer

of 1903, collected a

goad

series of a large

iguana belonging

^{to the}

genus Cyclura on Watlings

^Island.

He

also secured a fine

specimen

^of

Cyclura bceolopha Cope ^{on Andros}

Island, the

type

locality ofthis well- defined _species.

Two _specimens

collected

by Mr, William Palmer

ⁱⁿ

1900 on

the Isle of Pines,

which

I

have regarded

^as typical of

Cyclura

cyclura,

have furnished

material for

com-

parison,

with

the result thatthe

Watlings

^Island

specimens

^are

here

described as a

new

_species. It will

be noted

that

a

_large ip-uana

from Cat

Island has

been recorded under

the

name

of the

Cuban

_{species (Cope,}

Proc. U.

^S,

Nat. Mus.,

1887, p. 43V), but in

view

of the close

proximity

^of

Cat

Island to

Watlings,

^{it is}

probably

^{nearerto the}

iguana

^described

below,

^if

not

_actually identical

with

it,

than

to the

form

_inhabiting

Cuba. The

third species peculiar^to the

Bahamas

is

Cyclura

^carinata

from Turk's

Island, the

most

peculiar of

them

all.

35—PROC. BIOL. SOC. WASH. VOL. XVI,^1903. (129}

£30 Stejneger

— A

JVeic Species-

of Large Iguana,

Cyclura

rileyi, sp. nov.

Diagnosis.

— _Combs

on second

and

third toes; scales on muzzle _large:

no

median

protuberances^antei'iortoeyea; ^verticilsontail feebly devel- oped; ^a largepatch^of tubercularscalesonsideofthroatbelow_{angle of} mouth; ^a small shield in contact with nasal

between

_supranasal

and

postnasal^; dorsalcrestrepresented by about⁷⁵(71-79) enlarged strongly keeled scales.

Habitat.

—

_{WatlingsIsland,}

_Bahamas.

Type.-

—

_United StatesNational

Museum,

^No,31,969; Watlings^Island,.

Bahamas,

July13, 1903; J. H._Riley, collector.

Description.

—

Adult _female; United States National

Museum,

^No,

31,969; Watlings Island; July13, 1903; J.

H.

_Riley, collector. Rostral wide,

much

wider than _mental, broadly ^{in contact} with _nasal; nasal verylarge, largerthan anyother shieldon the head, broadlyhexagonal, forming ^a long suture withits fellow; nostrilnearly ovoid, large, near the upper posterior corner ^of the nasal; nasal in contact with _{a large} elongate supranasal,

and two

postnasals, theupper onesmalland_squar-

ish,thelower_larger,boththis

and

the nasal separatedfromthe anterior supralabials

by two

^{or threerowsofsmall}shields; supranasalsbroadly incontacton themiddleofthe snout, eachfollowedby

two

pairs^ofpre- frontals, one behind the_other, both _larger than supranasals,

and

the posterior pair largerthantheanterior; the prefrontals are separated

on

the

median

lineby^afewsmall

and

irregularshields; top^of

head

behind prefrontalscovered bysmall irregular polygonalshields,thoseon outer andanterior portionof supraocularregion being^smaller, but otherwise withouta_clearlyrecognizablearrangement^intosupraorbital semi-circles

and

supraoculardisks; allcephalic shieldsand scales

smooth

or slightly tuberculate; _occipital

somewhat

_largerthanthe adjacentscutes; nodis- tinctly differentiated superciliaryshields,only

two

of the anterior ones adjoining thecanthusrostralisbeing

somewhat

_enlarged and_elongated;

foursmall shieldson canthusrostralis behind postnasals; shields cover- ing the^lorealtrianglenumerous,flat,elongate,irregularlypolygonal

and

varyingⁱⁿsize, anteriorly

wedged

^{inbetweenthe nasals}

and

_{the supra-}

labials,

two

to three rows separating the ^latter from the postnasal; a seriesofenlarged keeled suboculars separated from the supralabials

by

about sevenrowsofsmall elongatehexagonalscales; scalescovering the temporal region irregular ^{in size}

and

shape,

some

almost _granular; a group^oflarger tubercular shieldsor scales infrontof theupper edge^of the

tympanum,

one being particularlyprominent,

and

asingle series of similarones along the anterioredge^ofthe

tympanum

^;

tympanum

^ovoid,its

verticaldiameterlessthandiameterof eye;supralabialslow and_elongate, sixtounderthe centerofthe eye; lowerlabials higher than the supra- labials, butsmaller thanthemalar_shields; the three anteriormalarsin contactwiththelower labials, the posterior ones separated from

them

by one

and two

rows of elongate polygonal ^shields but no granules or small_scales; the posterior malars with a blunt tubercle or keel at the

Stejneger

— A Neio

_Sjyecies

of Large Iguana.

¹³¹ lower _edge: throat covered with small uniform juxtaposed ^scales;

on

eachsidebelowthe angle of the

mouth

apatchof larger,

more

rounded tubercles separatedby^scalescorresponding ^totheother throatscales; a strong transverse^foldacross the lower

neck

_joined

by numerous

^longi- tudinal foldsonthesides of theneck

and

ahigh(about 25

mm.) dewlap on

the

median

line;

back

covered with small uniform_squarishscales in tolerably regular ^series, 10-12 scales in the long diameter of the tym-

panum;

^{acurvednuchal crest}consisting^ofabout 20 spines, the longest about25

mm.

_{high and}slightly falcate; a series of79 enlarged, elongate, keeled scales forming a slight crest on the

median

line of the back;

scalesonunderside'similartothoseonback, thoseon upper^sideofarm, especially forearm,

somewhat

_larger, those on hind _legs even

more

so (about⁶ⁱⁿthe longdiameterof theear)

and

withindication_{of keels;} a single seriesofabout20femoralpores; inner^sideof secondtoewithone

"comb,"

^{ofthirdtoewith}

two "combs,"

^each consisting^of three _lobes;

tail compressed, covered with obliquely keeled scales in vertical rows forming but faintly indicated verticils, about five rows of the larger scales to a verticil

where

such can be

made

out; tail

surmounted by

^a

seriesof enlarged, pointed, triangular^scalesforminga strongly serrated edge.

Color,

which

_accordingtoMr. _Rileyhasnot

changed

materiallyⁱⁿthe preserving ^fluid, dull

"smoke

_gray,

"on

the upper surface irregularly

and

obscurely

marked

with _variously anastomosing blotches

and

mar- blings^of"tawny-olive."

Dimensions.—Total length(tailregenerated), 597

mm.;

tipof snoutto vent, 272; tip ofsnoutto orbit, 24; tip ofsnoutto ear, 51; widthofhead, 35; fore limb, 106; hind _limb, 161; vertical diameter of

tympanum,

^9.

InNo. 31,966

which

hasthe tail complete ^the dimensions are as fol- lows: Total _length,558

mm.;

tip of snout tovent, 208; vent _{to tip of}

tail, 350.

The

tail is consequently

more

than _\\ times _{the length} of head

and

_body.

Variation.

— The

individual variation displayedby^theseven specimens collectedissurprisingly small.

The

scutellationisessentially as in the type specimen ^{described above,} with here

and

there an additional small shield intercalated

where two

sutures meet, the only greater devi- ation being ^{that of} No. 31,970 in

which

the anterior prefrontals are devidedtransversely.

The

anteriorsuperciliariesarealsobetterdefined in

some

of the specimens than ^{in the} one described,

and

the arrange-

ment

of the supraorbital ridge^isalsooccasionally better defined.

The number

of enlarged keeled scales forming ^{the dorsal} crest, or rather ridge, varies between 71 and 79, one each having ^these numbers, one each having73, 76

and

77

and two

75 scales.

The

color is also fairly uniform throughout^theseries.

Remarks.

—

This

new

_species, though probably nearest related to the

Cuban

C.cyclura,showscertain leaningstowardsC.cornutainthe small- nessofthescalescovering

arms and

legs

and

theundevelopedcondition of thecaudalverticils.

The

_similarity tothe other

Bahaman

species^is

132 Stejneger

— _{A New}

_/Speck's

_{of Large Iguana.}

notremarkablyclose,

and

altogether the

new

form

may

^be easily identi- fied bythe characters pointed outⁱⁿthe_diagnosis.

FieldnotesbyMr. _Riley.

—

This _species is very

common

on two small keysⁱⁿ the large salt-water lake on Watlings Island, butisveryrarely found on the

main

_partofthe_island,probably caused bythe large

num-

berof catsthat are said to be running ^wild.

The

_iguanas

must

have reached the keys by

swimming. The

large

key

^is locally

known

as IguanaCay. ^{It is} several

hundred

_{yards long}

and

fifteen or twenty broad.

Mangroves grow

^{around the} shore, but the center is covered with alarge cactus^tree.

The

_key,ofcourse, ^isnothing but^coralrock.

The

ground under^{the cactusis bare} and here most of the iguanas ^are found.

They

^{have a habit of} running veryswiftly

and

then suddenly stopping, unless very

much

_frightened

when

_{they go} into holes in the rock, with

which

their

domain

is abundantly supplied.

They

^{have a} lumberinggaitthat carries

them

over the ground veryrapidly.

They

alsoclimbtrees to

some

extent,and oneofthose shot

was

about five feet

up

^ina mangrove.

Two

^of the females opened were heavy with eggs, oneof

them

_{containingfive,} aboutthesizeof turtle eggs.