Turks and Caicos rock iguana

The Turks and Caicos rock iguana is a species of lizard endemic to the Turks and Caicos islands. This small iguana can reach 30 in and becomes mature at seven years and may live for twenty. A single clutch of up to nine eggs is laid each year, and these take three months to hatch. This iguana is mostly herbivorous, but supplements this by adding some animal matter to its diet. At one time numerous, these iguanas have been depleted by introduced predators, mainly cats and dogs. Their habitat is being degraded by overgrazing and trampling of vegetation which reduces the availability of food for the iguanas. They have been wiped out of some islands and cling on precariously in others. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated them as endangered. Various conservation efforts are being undertaken, and some iguanas have been relocated to uninhabited islets in an effort to prevent them from becoming extinct.

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