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NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD

Baja California Spiny- tailed Iguana

Ctenosaura hemilopha (Cope, 1863)

Source-backed taxonomic record

Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.

Spiny Tailed Iguana "Ctenosaura hemilopha" at Nashville Zoo

Spiny Tailed Iguana "Ctenosaura hemilopha" at Nashville Zoo

Ltshears · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image source

Provider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.

Open encyclopedia reference

Ctenosaura hemilopha, also known as the Cape spiny-tailed iguana or Baja California spiny-tailed iguana, is a species of spinytail iguana endemic to Baja California. It is arboreal and primarily herbivorous, although it can be an opportunistic carnivore. Males may grow up to 100 centimeters (39 in) in length, while females are smaller, with a length of up to 70 centimeters (28 in). Five subspecies are currently recognized.

The existence of mainland and insular populations of this species has been valuable in providing biologists with study and control groups comparing the evolution of island populations and their mainland counterparts. The San Esteban Island subspecies (C.h. conspicuosa) coexists with the giant San Esteban chuckwalla, contrary to predictions of ecological niche theory.

Wikipedia contributors, Ctenosaura hemilopha; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T13:22:45.245327+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name
Ctenosaura hemilopha (Cope, 1863)
Name authority
(Cope, 1863)
Common name
Baja California Spiny- tailed Iguana
Rank
species
Accepted status
accepted
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Reptilia
Order
Squamata
Family
Iguanidae
Genus
Ctenosaura
Extinction status
Not supplied by this source

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

  1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
  2. kingdomAnimalia
  3. phylumChordata
  4. subphylumVertebrata
  5. infraphylumGnathostomata
  6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
  7. megaclassTetrapoda
  8. classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
  9. orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
  10. suborderIguania
  11. familyIguanidae
  12. genusCtenosaura
  13. speciesCtenosaura hemilopha (Cope, 1863)

Close classified relatives

These entries share the source’s genus, Ctenosaura. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.

SpeciesClassificationSource status
San Esteban Spinytail IguanaCtenosaura conspicuosa Dickerson, 1919IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Yellow-backed Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura flavidorsalis Köhler & Klemmer, 1994IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Nolasco Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura nolascensis Smith, 1972IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Oaxaca Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura oaxacana Köhler & Hasbun, 2001IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Roatan Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura oedirhina de Queiroz, 1987IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Guerreran Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura pectinata (Wiegmann, 1834)IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Five-keeled Spiny-tailed IguanaCtenosaura quinquecarinata (Gray, 1842)IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Black IguanaCtenosaura similis (Gray, 1831)IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Northeastern Spinytail IguanaCtenosaura acanthura (Shaw, 1802)IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Baker's Spinytail IguanaCtenosaura bakeri Stejneger, 1901IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Balsas Armed LizardCtenosaura clarki Bailey, 1928IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied
Cape Spinytail IguanaCtenosaura macrolopha Smith, 1972IguanidaeChordataAccepted speciesExtinction status not supplied

Browse 36 records assigned to Iguanidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Recorded nameSource status
Ctenosaura insulana Dickerson, 1919 Dickerson, 1919synonym
Cyclura (Ctenosaura) hemilopha Cope, 1863 Cope, 1863synonym
Ctenosaura interrupta Bocourt, 1882 Bocourt, 1882synonym

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

NW Mexico (SE Baja California Sur, several islands in the Gulf of California, W Chihuahua)

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

  1. https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Ctenosaura&species=hemilopha Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:3276C. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.