Mostly Cloudy, 79° F
Pink Iguana: Genetic Studies Reveal a New Species in Galapagos
06 January 2009
After several years of performing genetic studies, a study by Tor Vergata University in Rome, in close collaboration with the Galapagos National Park (GNP), has concluded that the pink iguana found on Wolf volcano on Isabela Island is a new species, distinct from those previously known.
While climbing to the summit of Wolf volcano during a 1986 field survey, employees of the GNP and the Charles Darwin Foundation (CDF) observed five pink-colored iguanas with black spots. It was initially thought that they were dealing with several individuals that had been smudged or
stained by some substance.
Later, several individuals were captured to take morphological data and to determine if the markings were an adaptation of terrestrial iguanas to some environmental or nutritional condition. After a 2001 investigation obtained blood samples from 36 individuals, investigators from Tor
Vergata and the GNP confirmed that they were dealing with a species new to science.
The pink iguana, as it is named, is a terrestrial iguana genetically and morphologically distinct from those known until now. It will be necessary to expand the studies to determine the population of the new species and to determine what management action may be required to guarantee its conservation. Funding for continued investigations is pending.
The recently discovered species exclusively inhabits Wolf volcano, the highest in the archipelago. The genetic analyses demonstrate that the difference between Conolophus subcristatus and
Conolophus pallidus (the known terrestrial iguana species in the Galapagos) is smaller than that between these two species and the pink iguana. The iguana’s geographic distribution, population
size, ecology, feeding and reproductive habits are still uncertain. Nor have juveniles been encountered, and the results of the continued investigations will reveal if it is necessary to establish a management program to guarantee their survival.
Commenting is closed for this article.
