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IGUANA  •  VOLUME 11, NUMBER 4  •  DECEMBER 2004 251HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES

Barbour and Ramsden (1919, Memoirs Mus. Comp. Zool.,
Harvard Univ., 47[2]: 72–213) list six mainland localities

for the Cuban iguana, Cyclura macleayi macleayi Gray [= C.
nubila nubila], and comment on the gradual extirpation of the
species. Their records represent all the Cuban provinces with the
exception of Santa Clara, now Las Villas.

During September, 1955, Mr. Daniel Lyons, of the Natural
History Society of Maryland, and the author observed a num-
ber of iguanas on the Cuban mainland near the city of Trinidad,
Las Villas Province. These observations add a new provincial
record to the list of Barbour and Ramsden.

Five individuals were observed on the mainland in typical
limestone associations as described by Sutcliff (1952, Notulae
Naturae, Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, 243 1–7) in his discussion
of the species as observed on Cayo de la Piedra. In such areas
dense vegetation occurs on a thin soil lying over a limestone base.
Prickly pear and trailing cactus are typical plants. Iguanas occu-
pying such areas live in natural cavities of the limestone.

Observations were made on Cayo Macho de Tierra on
September 12, 1955. The island is approximately one-quarter-
mile long and reaches a width of 200 yards. It consists of a low,
sandy hill almost completely surrounded by dense mangrove
swamps. Vegetation is sparse in the open, sandy central area and
consists chiefly of beach grasses. Besides the iguanas, numerous
aquatic birds, land crabs, and Anolis sagrei were distributed
throughout the area. A small colony of Ameiva auberi occupied
a sandy beach on the west end of the island.

A total of seven iguanas was observed between 10:00 A.M.
and noon, five of which were captured. In all cases they were

flushed from thick clumps of beach grass.
There are apparently no accounts of Cyclura macleayi

macleayi entering water as a means of escape. Two individuals
entered burrows whereas the other island-dwelling iguanas
sought escape by entering the sea. Each one ran parallel to the
shore, sometimes for more than one hundred yards, then, turn-
ing swiftly, entered the water, swimming out about twenty yards,
and remaining motionless beneath eight to ten inches of water.
One individual entered the water from an open beach, but in an
area where heavy wave action was inhibited by a thick growth of
seaweed. The others entered the mangrove swamps in which the
water was clear and quiet.

The island-dwelling iguanas inhabit long, shallow burrows
similar to those dug by large land crabs. Burrows were observed
in the more elevated regions of Cayo Macho de Tierra as well as
on three small unnamed islands southeast of Casilda, and could
be distinguished from crab burrows by their larger size and the
long groove-like tail marks at their entrances.

Of the three burrows opened, two contained iguanas. All
ran downward at a moderate angle for about two feet and then
continued parallel to the surface for six or eight feet. Two ended
blindly, whereas the third was found to have two entrances
approximately eight feet apart. The actual dwelling place of its
occupant was a small tunnel extending no more than two feet
from one of the entrances.

Local observers insist that iguanas invariably leave the bur-
rows tail first. This is perhaps true in view of the size and struc-
ture of the burrows, the diameters of which vary from four to
eight inches throughout their length. In no case was an enlarged
terminal room observed. Both of the individuals found in bur-
rows were facing down-burrow in very tight quarters and were
collected by grasping the tail.

Adult male Cuban Iguanas facing off in a territorial dispute. Photograph by Glenn Gerber.

Notes on the Cuban Iguana1

Jerry D. Hardy, Jr.

1 Reprinted with permission from Herpetologica 12:323–324 (1956).




