Iguana 11.3 b&w text


IGUANA  •  VOLUME 11, NUMBER 3  •  SEPTEMBER 2004 153

Curlytail Lizards (Genus Leiocephalus) occur in the Bahamas,
Turks & Caicos Islands, Swan Island (in the western

Caribbean), Cayman Islands, Cuba, and Hispaniola. Extinct
forms are known from Navassa (situated between Jamaica and
Hispaniola) and Martinique (in the Lesser Antilles). The Saw-
scaled Curlytail (L. carinatus) is widespread in the Bahamas and
on Cuba, with additional populations on Swan Island and the
Cayman Islands. Thirteen subspecies are currently recognized,
suggesting that such a widely distributed form comprised of many
insular populations may actually represent a species complex.

Leiocephalus carinatus varius occurs on Swan Island and
Grand Cayman Island, whereas L. c. granti is abundant on Little
Cayman Island and on Cayman Brac. Like others in the complex,
these are large Curlytails. Although males are larger than females,
individuals of both sexes can exceed 100 mm snout-vent lengths
(SVL), with the largest males approaching 130 mm SVL.

Like other Curlytails, these lizards are exclusively diurnal,
tolerant of hot, dry conditions, and often extremely wary. Their
habit of curling their tails like a watchspring over their backs led
to the Cuban common name, perrito (= little dog). Caymanian
populations are primarily coastal and individuals are locally com-
mon on beaches where resources (food and shelter) are abundant.

Males are aggressively territorial and will fight savagely when
behavioral displays involving lateral presentations, head bobbing,
strutting, and inflating the sides of their necks fail to discourage
an interloper. The home ranges of several females may overlap
with that of a single male.

Reference
Schwartz, A. and R.W. Henderson. 1991. Amphibians and Reptiles of the

West Indies: Descriptions, Distributions, and Natural History.
University of Florida Press, Gainesville.

S P E C I E S  P R O F I L E

Saw-scaled Curlytail 
(Leiocephalus carinatus)

Robert Powell

Avila University, Kansas City, Missouri

Photographs by John Binns.

Leiocephalus carinatus scavenging a dead fish on Little Cayman
Island. Curlytail diets have been described as “catholic,” and they
quite willingly consume buds, flowers, seeds, and fruits of many
plants along with a variety of small invertebrate prey. They regu-
larly scavenge and may become quite tame in situations where
they are fed or can forage on abundant food scraps. Large males
in at least some populations of some species are cannibalistic.

Although males are highly territorial, home ranges of several
females may overlap with that of a single male.

Individuals usually are quite wary and closely watch any poten-
tial threat. If approached too closely, lizards quickly retreat into
burrows or crevices.

SPECIES PROFILE