The subspecies was previously considered to represent melanistic individuals of the green iguana. It was reclassified as a separate subspecies based on a number of genomic distinctions (private microsatellite alleles and unique mitochondrial ND4 haplotypes) and consistent morphological characteristics. melanoderma is the sister group of the green iguana populations from South America (considered I. iguana iguana), with both forming a clade that is the sister group of the green iguana populations present on St. Lucia and the Grenadines, which are considered a distinct subspecies, I. Tuesday, June 6 - Early Release Day 12:30PM. Thursday, June 1 4:30-5:30PM-Student Showcase and Scholastic Book Fair. Wednesday, May 31 -Scholastic Book Fair-during school-please PTO schedule. The Reptile Database also recognizes the Saban black iguana as a distinct taxonomic entity, but due to its close relation to the green iguana, it (along with the two subspecies of I. Welcome to South Elementary Important Upcoming Dates and Information. insularis) is instead classified as a subspecies of the green iguana, as I. Join to view profile Bwana Iguana Reptile Adventure.
Distribution Ī member of the putative Venezuelan population, which may be the source population for the subspecies.Īs proposed in the original publication, the subspecies displays a very unusual disjunct distribution. Owner at Bwana Iguana Reptile Adventure Johnston, Rhode Island, United States. Member populations are found on Montserrat and Saba, as well as on the Virgin Islands and the island of Vieques, and in northern Venezuela, including several coastal islets as well as the mainland vicinity of Cumaná. The mainland distribution has not been well defined. A news article indicated that it is believed the species was also present on Redonda, but this was not addressed in the original publication several authors have mentioned having seen iguanas, but no specimens have been collected, nor any fossils identified. Recent genetic insights confirm that near-indistinguishable melanistic iguanas (compared to Saba and Montserrat) have identical mitohondrial haplotypes as those two populations in the Lesser Antilles. Ī member of the putative Virgin Islands population, on Saint Thomas Genetic data remains to be analyzed from the populations assigned to this subspecies in Venezuela. It is theorized that coastal Venezuela is the source population for I. melanoderma and also where it diverged from other iguanas. Three dispersal events have been proposed one from coastal Venezuela to either Saba or Montserrat (with Montserrat being more likely if the dispersal was natural), a second pre-Columbian dispersal from one of these two islands to the other, and a third to Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
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