Ctenosaura macrolopha
—
Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana
Also known as:
Mainland Spiny-tailed Iguana
![Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura macrolopha)](../images/herps/standard/170821001PD.jpg)
Adult spiny-tailed iguanas are large and wary. This one was perched atop a roadside post perhaps eight feet up, keeping a wary eye on us. It reminded me of a wary and high-perched bearded dragon I had seen in Australia.
![Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura macrolopha)](../images/herps/standard/170821018PD.jpg)
![Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura macrolopha)](../images/herps/standard/170821020PD.jpg)
Juvenile spiny-tailed iguanas are also wary, but much smaller and spryer and greener. This one scrambled back and forth across a large boulder, trying its best to prevent us from getting a good angle for photos.
![Sonoran Spiny-tailed Iguana (Ctenosaura macrolopha)](../images/herps/standard/17082237PD.jpg)
A typical view of one of these shy iguanas, sneaking into the nearest hidey-hole.
Online references:
- Ctenosaura macrolopha account on The Reptile Database
Printed references:
- Crother, B. I. (ed.) 2017. Scientific and Standard English Names of Amphibians and Reptiles of North America North of Mexico, with Comments Regarding Confidence in Our Understanding, Eighth Edition
- Rorabaugh, J.C., Lemos-Espinal, J.A. 2016. A Field Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Sonora, Mexico